Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Paragraph: 17
Taiwan’s impressive response to covid-19 illustrates that its exclusion from WHO forums risks harming global...
Recommendation
Taiwan’s impressive response to covid-19 illustrates that its exclusion from WHO forums risks harming global health security, making it harder to exchange information with Taiwan and learn from its experiences. In a deeply interconnected world, where the next pandemic could emerge from any region, we cannot afford to arbitrarily remove key partners from global health forums. We were disappointed that the Minister responsible for global health security was not aware of the UK’s position on this topic, which suggests that the issue may not be getting the attention it deserves within the FCDO. We recommend that the Government builds on the momentum of the joint G7 statement supporting Taiwan’s participation in the WHO with a renewed push for its attendance at the 2022 World Health Assembly.
Paragraph Reference:
17
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The UK supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations where statehood is not a prerequisite and where Taiwan can make a valuable contribution. The FCDO works with the Department for Health and Social Care to lobby for Taiwan’s participation in World Health Organisation (WHO) meetings. The UK continues to work with likeminded countries to lobby the WHO at official level to issue an invitation to Taiwan to observe the World Health Assembly and allow Taiwan to participate in relevant WHO technical meetings. Lessons learnt from Taiwan’s effective tackling of the Covid-19 pandemic adds significant value to the international fight against the virus.