Taiwan inks disaster management and medical capacity building cooperation...

2021/04/15

MOFA Secretary General Lily L. W. Hsu (front, center) and St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ambassador Andrea Bowman (back, third right) are joined by other officials during the cooperation pact signing ceremony April 13 at MOFA headquarters in Taipei City. (MOFA)
A memorandum of understanding on disaster management and medical capacity building in St. Vincent and the Grenadines was inked by Taiwan and the Caribbean ally April 13, spotlighting how Taiwan Can Help realize the World Health Organization’s goal of Health for All and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
 
Under the MOU, experts from Taiwan will help St. Vincent and the Grenadines evaluate its national disaster preparedness and response mechanisms while conducting a preliminary study on building and strengthening earthquake warning systems and volcano monitoring facilities in the country, MOFA said. Taiwan will also share its experiences in employing disaster prevention technology and boosting medical capacity, the ministry added.
 
Staged by Taiwan International Health Action at MOFA headquarters in Taipei City, the signing ceremony was hosted by MOFA Secretary General Lily L. W. Hsu and Deputy Health Minister Shih Chung-liang. Signatories included Timothy T. Y. Hsiang, secretary general of Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund; Wu Kuang-chong, president of National Applied Research Laboratories; and Chen Hongey, director of National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction, with St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ambassador Andrea Bowman serving as witness.
 
During her address, Hsu extended concern on behalf of the government over La Soufriere volcano’s recent eruption. As both countries are located in disaster-prone areas, Taiwan is willing to share its expertise in public health and disaster management with the Caribbean ally, she added.
 
Echoing Hsu’s remarks, Ambassador Bowman praised the Taiwan Can Help ethos and lauded the country’s show of support following the disaster.
 
In a tweet on its official Twitter account, the MOFA said “It takes #AllHandsOnDeck to enhance national disaster management & medical capacity building. The timely MOU between TaiwanIHA & @NEMOSVG shows #TaiwanCanHelp #StVincentAndTheGrenadines strengthen resilience while achieving #HealthForAll & the #SDGs.”
 
TaiwanIHA, a task force established by the MOFA and MOHW in 2006, cooperates with international organizations in providing humanitarian aid to developing countries while in improving the quality of public health and medical care. 


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)