TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Thursday proposed a national One Health joint plan in response to growing health threats posed by globalization, climate change, and ecosystem shifts.
The effort aligns with the One Health Joint Action guidelines set by the United Nations' Quadripartite organizations to improve cross-sector collaboration and multi-agency integration. The initiative aims to create a national One Health framework by consolidating current resources.
This structure will improve Taiwan's readiness and response to infectious diseases, zoonotic diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. One Health highlights the connections between human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration to address health and environmental challenges while promoting sustainable development.
To implement Taiwan’s One Health policy, the MOHW has suggested creating a cross-ministerial platform. The premier would appoint a designated official as the convener, with committee members from the MOHW, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of the Interior, alongside experts and scholars.
The platform will focus on five key objectives:
- Preventing new and recurring animal-borne diseases and pandemic
- Managing and eliminating local animal-borne diseases, neglected tropical illnesses, and diseases spread by insects
- Improving food safety risk evaluation, control, and public communication
- Limiting the spread of drug-resistant infections
- Integrating environmental factors into the One Health approach.
In 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, and the UN Environment Programme jointly released the One Health Joint Plan of Action. It serves as a guideline for member states to address cross-sectoral health threats using the One Health approach.
The MOHW, in collaboration with key government agencies, will develop a One Health plan tailored to Taiwan. The plan is set for initial implementation from 2026 to 2030.
