Palau voiced its support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Assembly (WHA) once again, calling the non-inclusion regrettable despite its success in combating COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister of Health Emais Roberts in a remark during the resumed virtual 73rd World Health Assembly, November 2020 this week said the World Health Organization (WHO) need not look further to see that Taiwan has been successful in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
Palau was reportedly cut off by assembly facilitators when a video clip of the minister was played.
Facilitators reportedly told Palau to stick to the agenda discussion, which they said was not supposed to be about the observer status.
However in Min. Roberts remarks, he said Palau- one of the handful of nations that are COVID-free- has kept the virus at bay not only because of strict border management but with the aid of the global community.
“In Palau, we have come to know well the contribution that Taiwan can make as we continue to be on guard for the arrival of the coronavirus on our shores,” he said.
With Taiwan’s help he said, the nation was able to secure medical equipment and PPE,
Adding Taiwan has also helped train Palauan health workers to develop its own testing capabilities.
“These impacts that we face are related to the global effort to contain this pandemic. As the global community continues to improve on our efforts to prevent, detect, treat, and we hope ultimately to be able to vaccinate against the virus, we need to learn from those who have been successful in this fight,” he said,
“In this we need to look no further than the example of Taiwan, which despite its great success in containing the virus, remains excluded from our deliberations, and which has not been able to share its insights to contribute to our collective efforts. “
He stated that Palau regrets that until now, in the midst of the pandemic Taiwan is again excluded from WHO, an institution which has urged the global community to work together to combat the pandemic.
“The (WHO) Director-General himself has said many times that ‘we’re all in this together’. And in the discussions around vaccine development, we also hear the recognition that this must be a global effort, and that vaccination cannot be successful in any one jurisdiction if it is unsuccessful in others. Excluding Taiwan creates a gap in the global health network, jeopardizing the wellbeing of all of us,” he stressed.
The World Health Assembly is the WHO’s decision-making body.