President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) announced on Monday that in addition to the Health Ministry’s project to provide mental health support for the middle-aged citizens, aiming to ease the burdens carried by Taiwan’s “Sandwich Generation”, more funds will also be allocated to long-term care as well as the national childcare plan 2.0 for children aged 0 to 6 next year .
There are an estimated 5.25 million Taiwanese people aged 30 to 45 in the Sandwich Generation, known for the doubled pressure of caring for their parents and children. To help reduce the stress, the Health Ministry has launched the new mental health support project starting August, expanding free psychological counseling to include people up to 45 years old. The program will be active until the end of 2025.
Speaking at a meeting with Taiwan Lifeline International, the president stated that the government’s goal in building a “healthy Taiwan” is to actively incorporate mental health support policies and collaborate with civil society groups to provide more supportive and better care of the people. Lai revealed that the budget for the next fiscal year has been finalized, including an overall budget for long-term care of up to NT$92.7 billion (US$2.86 billion). The budget for the new national childcare plan for children aged 0 to 6 is also higher with more comprehensive measures.
The president expressed his gratitude to Taiwan Lifeline International, who has been providing telephone counseling and suicide prevention services across 22 counties and cities in Taiwan, answering more than 190,000 calls annually. Since 2022, Taiwan Lifeline International has partnered with the Health Ministry in providing text counseling services for teenagers, opening a new channel to help those in need. The dedication of the civil group has been vital in protecting many Taiwanese people’s mental health, affirmed President Lai.