Head of Taiwan's Health Promotion Administration Chiou Shu-ti gave a keynote speech at the 14th World Congress on Public Health on Friday. This is the first time a Taiwanese official has given a speech at the congress under her government title. Generally Taiwanese government officials cannot use their formal titles at UN-related events due to opposition from China.
Chiou’s speech was about Taiwan’s nationwide weight management program, promoted by the health ministry. During the speech, Chiou said that Taiwan has done a lot to foster innovation when it comes to healthy food. There are a lot of health and affordable food products to choose from. Chiou also said that since Taiwan launched the weight management program in 2011, the Taiwanese people have collectively lost more than 4.4 million kilograms of weight. She said that the program has also helped more than 200,000 people get back to their healthy weight.
The World Congres on Public Health is supported by UN Agencies, primarily the World Health Organization and UNICEF, and is closely followed for its recommendations and input on global public health concerns.