Event Description:
The Global Taiwan Institute invites you to a public seminar titled, “Taiwan and Global Health” on May 3rd from noon to 1:30pm, aspart of our Civil Society and Democracy Series. Partially funded by a grant from Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, this year’s thematic focus is on Taiwan’s global impact. Despite the fact that Taiwan contributes to global health and the prevention of communicable diseases, Taiwan has been prevented from joining the World Health Organization or even observing during the World Health Assembly the past two years. Taiwan’s lack of international space on health issues impedes the valuable transfer of knowledge among practitioners and prevents others from fully benefiting from its advancements in the medical field.
To better understand and appreciate the value of Taiwan’s contribution to global health, the panel will feature two practitioners in the medical field: Dr. I-Lin Hsu from National Chung Keng University in Tainan, Taiwan; and, Judy (Shiou-Chu) Wang from Management Sciences for Health. Dr. I-Lin Hsu will present on Taiwan’s role in disaster relief around the world, and his work specifically in trauma care and setting up long-term, coordinated trauma response systems in countries such as Kenya, Myanmar, and Nepal. Ms. Wang will speak on her experience in Taiwan Medical Missions for supporting pharmaceutical supply and improving medicine use in Guinea-Bissau and Malawi, and how those missions contributed to WHO agenda in availability of and accessibility to medicines, rational use of medicines, and antimicrobial resistance containment.
In addition, our two technical experts will be joined by Erika Elvander, Director for Asia and the Pacific, Office of Global Affairs (OGA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and Dr. Daniel Lu, Director of the Health Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO).
Doors will open at 11:30. A light lunch will be served, and the event will begin at 12:00. Kindly RSVP by May 2. Please, direct questions or concerns to Program Associate Marzia Borsoi-Kelly at mborsoikelly@globaltaiwan.
**Media: Please contact Marzia Borsoi-Kelly at mborsoikelly@globaltaiwan.
Panelists:
Dr. I-Lin Hsu is the Director of the International Medical Center since 2015 at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. Since 2011 he has also served as the Director of the South Branch of National Disaster Medical Assistance Team (NDMAT) at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Vice-Director of the Emergency Medical Operations Center since 2011, and has many other roles Taiwan’s medical community in addition to working as an instructor and physician. Dr. Hsu has responded to disasters all over the world such as Nepal, Haiti, Myanmar, and Japan, and within Taiwan as well. Dr. Hsu received his MD from Kaohsiung Medical University, his Masters from The Institute of Clinical Medicine of National Cheng Kung University, and is a PhD candidate from the same institution in the Department of Public Health.
Shiou-Chu (Judy) Wang is an international pharmaceutical systems and public health specialist. Ms. Wang was a hospital pharmacist in Taiwan for 9 years, then started her international development career by working for two Taiwan Medical Missions in Guinea Bissau and Malawi for 9 years, and worked for international non-governmental organizations (Health Partners Southern Africa and Management Sciences for Health) for 12 years. She has substantial experience in improving pharmaceutical supply and use, and strengthening pharmaceutical systems. Her country experiences include Afghanistan, Malawi, Guinea Bissau, Swaziland, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Botswana, Gambia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Ms. Wang received her Master of Public Health from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; and her B.A. in Pharmacy from Taipei Medical University, Taiwan.
Erika Elvander has been the Director for Asia and the Pacific, Office of Global Affairs (OGA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), since June 2011. This is her second stint at OGA. From 1998 to 2007, she worked at OGA on bilateral health cooperation with Russia and Ukraine, then with Asia and the Pacific on such diverse issues as pandemic influenza, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), chronic disease, and HIV/AIDS. In between stints at OGA, she developed federal, state, and local government partnerships for the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), and coordinated research on women’s health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Prior to her government service, she worked at a number of non-profits, including World Learning, Inc, an NGO devoted to developing international cooperation. She holds a B.A. from Williams College, and an M.A. in History from George Mason University.
Dr. Daniel Lu has served as the Director of the Health Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office to the United States since July 2015. Previously he was the Director General of the Public Health Bureau in Taitung County. He has held various roles in the medical field, from academic lecturer to Chief of Pingtung City Health Center. He has served Taiwan in Africa as the Medical Director to the mission in Mozambique, and as the Representative to Africa in the Department of Health in Malawi and Swaziland. Director Lu received his Doctor of Medicine from Fatima College of Medicine in the Philippines.
The Civil Society and Democracy series will continue throughout the year and focus on various topics relating to Taiwan’s democracy and human rights. The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy is a non-profit, non-partisan organization and is the first national democracy assistance foundation to be established in Asia, and is devoted to strengthening democracy and human rights in Taiwan and abroad.