President Lai Ching-te met with the winners of the 11th Taiwan Child Medical Care Awards on Monday. The president stated that engaging in medical work is a mission and a responsibility and thanked everyone for their efforts and contributions, saying that they are outstanding leaders in the field of pediatric medicine.
The award for lifetime contributions went to 85-year-old Dr. Guo Geng-nan (郭耿南), who is known as the father of Taiwan’s pediatric orthopedics. The mainstay award went to Dr. Zhou Hong-jie (周弘傑), who has been committed to the care of critically ill newborns with rare diseases for 24 years. The medical team award went to the National Taiwan University’s Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, which uses innovative genetic screening technology to improve the success rate of childhood cancer treatments. Several other awards were also presented, including those for pediatric newcomers and nursing.
President Lai pointed out that Taiwan has recently faced various challenges, including a declining birth rate, uneven distribution of pediatric medical care manpower, and complex emergency and critical care needs. He said he hopes the government’s plan to optimize children's medical care, implemented in 2021 and now entering its second phase, can successfully build a three-tier pediatric healthcare network. The plan’s strategies include improving the perinatal medical system and quality care capacity of serious and rare diseases, and promoting a system of specialized physicians for young children.
President Lai underscored that Taiwan will continuously improve pediatric capacity and quality by investing more resources.