Washington: Cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced by the Donald Trump administration last month could impact Taiwan's public health system, which "relies" on internationally collected data, according to a doctor who recently attended a health symposium in the United States.
According to Focus Taiwan, Chiang Kuan-yu, a physician at Taipei City Hospital's Zhongxing Branch, expressed concerns that USAID cuts would reduce information sharing between U.S. health agencies and international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), which in turn could negatively impact Taiwan. Chiang emphasized that Taiwan relies on data from the WHO for monitoring, for instance, influenza epidemics.
Chiang noted, "Currently, the WHO is not receiving any influenza data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)," and warned that this situation is "very dangerous for America and the world." He attended a health symposium in Washington, D.C., on February 13, where Loyce Pace, former assistant secretary for global affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, cautioned that international epidemic prevention networks were facing a crisis due to the announced cuts.
Chiang highlighted that "Taiwan can no longer rely on the U.S. for public health information," stressing the need for Taiwan to intensify its participation in international organizations for the sake of its public health. Meanwhile, Tseng Shu-hui, spokesperson for the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC), pointed out that although Taiwan is not a member of the WHO, there are other "friendly countries" willing to exchange epidemic prevention information.
Tseng assured that Taiwan's epidemic monitoring operates on a "multi-channel" model, and the Taiwan CDC will "continue international exchanges" under this system. In late February, a U.S. State Department spokesperson revealed that the Trump administration plans to eliminate more than 90 percent of USAID's foreign aid contracts, totaling over US$58 billion, as part of the president's "America First" agenda.