Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Indian human rights advocate praises Taiwan's health care system

Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) Health is a basic human right and Taiwan has shown that it is truly a country which makes human rights a priority through its implementation of one of the best health care systems in the world, an Indian human rights advocate said Monday.

Taiwan's strong national competitiveness comes from the health of its 23 million people, said Shri D. R. Kaarthikeyan, India's former inspector-general, who is visiting Taiwan from Nov. 12-15.

He also said it is not easy to find a health care system that covers 98 percent of its population, "But Taiwan did it," he said in his topical speech titled "Health and Human Rights: Taiwan's Participation and Contribution".

The success of health insurance lies in two factors -- the efficiency of the system, and the compassion of medical workers. Taiwan has been doing well in developing both, Kaarthikeyan observed.

Taiwan, which has been excluded from the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1962, has been both fortunate and unfortunate, said Wu Shuh-min, President of Foundation of Medical Professional Alliances in Taiwan (FMPAT).

"We're fortunate because we're doing well in decease control and establishing national health care system almost single-handedly. We're unfortunate because the world has ignored Taiwan's contribution," Wu said.

Kaarthikeyan shared the same sentiment but said he was confident that Taiwan's stress on "soft power, " which includes democracy and human rights, will succeed some day.

The visiting scholar also encouraged closer ties between India and Taiwan, pointing out that two-way trade up to September this year was US$ 3.5 billion, which was more than last year's total of US$2.9 billion. The number of Taiwanese tourists to India has also been on the increase.

"With more exchanges and cooperation, a lot of things can happen," he said.

Kaarthikeyan's speech was the first in a series at the Global Health Forum, which is a product of collaboration between the Department of Health (DOH) , FMPAT and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).