Health Minister Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) is calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA).
In an op-ed published on Tuesday in The Jerusalem Post, Chiu highlighted the excellence of Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system as a global model, having ranked first for seven consecutive years in Numbeo’s Health Care Index. Noting that NHI now covers 99.9 percent of the Taiwanese population, he says Taiwan’s NHI system aligns with the WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work (2025–2028), which prioritizes expanding health service coverage and strengthening financial protections to achieve universal health coverage.
Chiu adds that Taiwan has leveraged its strengths in information and communication technology to develop an efficient cloud-based healthcare system and smart medical services. He says these advancements align with the WHO’s strategic public health goals and enhance overall care quality for citizens.
Chiu points out how Taiwan has engaged in international health cooperation, sharing resources, expertise, and its NHI model during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Despite these efforts, Taiwan remains excluded from the WHO due to China’s distortion of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1. He says neither of these resolutions states that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China, and it does not confer the right to China to represent Taiwan.
Chiu urges the WHO to adopt a more inclusive and flexible stance by inviting Taiwan to join the WHA, reiterating the fundamental human right to health as stipulated in the WHO Constitution and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals vision of “leaving no one behind”.