By Olayinka Oyegbile

As the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA) holds its yearly meeting at the World Health Organisation (WHO) headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, on May 18, 2026, the Taiwan Minister of Health and Welfare, Dr. Chung-Liang Shih, has called on the world body to admit the country into the global health system.

The minister in a statement called on, “relevant stakeholders to support Taiwan’s inclusion in the global health system, thereby strengthening its completeness and resilience. Taiwan will continue to advance smart healthcare through digital innovation and contribute to global health and well-being.”

According to Dr. Chung-Liang Shih, Taiwan has been able to move its health system in such a way that it is today rated as one of the best in the world. He said, “As the world confronts the challenges of population aging and healthcare workforce shortages, digital transformation in healthcare is no longer optional but essential. Taiwan has introduced the “Healthy Taiwan” vision, placing “driving digital healthcare” at its core. By integrating big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud technologies, the system aims to improve healthcare quality and efficiency while moving toward a new healthcare model centered on holistic, person-centered care.”

He added that the country was ready to share its gains from its robust ICT industry which has helped its National Health Insurance (NHI) system with other members of the World Health Assembly. According to him, Taiwan, “has accumulated high-quality healthcare data over time and laid a critical foundation for smart healthcare development. Building on this, we have introduced a national digital health platform known as the “3-3-3 Framework,” integrating three major health spaces, three key health data standards, and three National AI governance centers to establish a comprehensive digital health infrastructure.”

He said this framework has promoted the integration of electronic medical records across more than 400 hospitals in the country and has led them to adopt international standards such as Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) to ensure cross-institutional interoperability.

The minister argued that Taiwan has through technology ensured that its health system is strong and was therefore ready to share its successes with other nations in the world body. Taiwan is rated as one of the leading countries in AI deployment and technological advancement.

He wrote, “With these policies in place, tangible results are already beginning to emerge. In chronic disease management, the “Family Physician Platform” incorporates AI-based risk prediction to support physicians in delivering personalized care, facilitating a shift from reactive treatment to proactive health management. In terms of healthcare data integration, the MediCloud system provides real-time access to patient records and medication information, while enhanced visualization of examination results and AI-assisted medical imaging interpretation further improve healthcare quality and patient safety.”

According to the minister, personal health management has been strengthened across the country leading to the adoption of “My Health Bank” platform, which he said has surpassed 50% adoption rate and can be integrated with data from wearable devices. He said this system and platform have encouraged individuals to take a more active role in managing their health.

He added that in digitalization of cancer treatment, Taiwan utilizes the FHIR standard to exchange Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) data, accelerating the review process for catastrophic illness certification and related medical use, thereby improving access to timely treatment.

He said the promotion of virtual health insurance cards, e-prescriptions, and telemedicine services are effectively overcoming temporal and geographical barriers, expanding access to rural and home-based care, adding that the acceptance of the country to the world health body would enable it to share its knowledge and expertise.

Dr Shih affirmed that Taiwan has established a comprehensive governance framework to advance the development of clinical AI, while 19 national medical AI centers have been established, covering responsible governance, clinical validation, and impact evaluation to ensure that AI is safe and reliable across the entire process from development to application. He added that over 50 AI medical products have received regulatory approval, supporting early cancer detection, prediction of cardiac events, and clinical decision-making support.

In making a case for the adoption of Taiwan as a member of the world body, Minister Shih concluded, “Diseases know no borders, and global health governance requires comprehensive collaboration. Taiwan has established a smart healthcare ecosystem driven by data, enabled by AI, and supported by interoperable standards, extending medical services from hospitals into communities and daily life and realizing holistic care. Taiwan’s practical experience demonstrates that we are capable of contributing to the international community.”

The American newsmagazine Newsweek had in 2026 ranked 13 hospitals in Taiwan as “World’s Best Smart Hospitals 2026.” This placed the country as second in Asia and demonstrating strong international competitiveness. Taiwan is advancing federated learning platforms that enable cross-institutional and cross-border AI model validation without transferring sensitive data, and has begun collaborating with partners in Southeast Asia to establish trusted international data-sharing models.

Despite this, Taiwan has been excluded from full participation in the WHO, whereas United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 and World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolution 25.1 neither mention Taiwan nor exclude it from participating in WHO and the WHA.

However, its efforts are always opposed by China which continues to claim that the country is a “province of China.”  The spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Guo Jiakun, had on May 11, claimed that Taiwan does not have a right to participate in WHA. He said at a briefing in Beijing “China’s position on the Taiwan region’s participation in the activities of international organisations, including the WHO, is consistent and clear. That is, this must be handled in line with the one-China principle. China’s Taiwan region, unless given approval by the central government, has no basis, reason or right to participate in the WHA,” Guo said.