TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) on Wednesday (May 22) that will facilitate mutual cooperation in disaster rescue, according to the ministry.

“We marked a historic moment by signing the MoU” 20 years after Taiwan established a bond with the university, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who sealed the agreement with HUG representatives on Wednesday.

After the catastrophic 7-magnitude earthquake struck Central Taiwan on Sept. 21, 1999, Switzerland sent humanitarian and medical teams to Taiwan to provide assistance, and that included HUG, added Chen.

The minister is leading a Taiwan delegation to Geneva for the World Health Assembly (WHA) promotional events this week, even though the country is still excluded from observing the annual health conference due to Beijing’s obstruction.

Through deepening collaboration with HUG, Taiwan will further refine the training program of the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) and establish a disaster response model based on international standards, said MOHW via a statement.

The agreement also envisions cooperation in academic research of disaster medicine and sharing of data analysis between both sides.

By cooperating with HUG and organizations from other countries, the country will improve its own disaster response capacity, and join forces to save lives whenever a disaster or emergency hits any corners of the world, said MOHW.

Taiwan should not be dismissed from global networking, as the country has qualified medical personnel and advanced medical capabilities that can make contributions to the international community, the ministry added. .

► (Source: MOHW)