Gambia: National Assembly Reaffirms Taiwan WHO Inclusion

April 24, Alieu Badara Ceesay, The Daily Observer (Banjul)

The Gambia's National Assembly has reinforced its call for the inclusion of Taiwan in the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a proclamation issued recently by the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly, the legislators insisted that the health and medical rights of the 23 million people of Taiwan are fundamental, and should not be denied for any reason.
The National Assembly had last March passed a resolution to support Taiwan to participate in the session and the work of the World Health Assembly and other meetings of the WHO with an observer status.

The lawmakers noted that the exclusion of Taiwan from the WHO is not only unjusifiable, but also in defiance of the principle of universal application for the protection of health welfare of all peoples of the world, and will create a loophole in the global health network, and thus pose a danger to the global community.

They therefore, considering the existing cordial and long-standing bilateral ties between the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Republic of The Gambia, urged the WHO to invite Taiwan to be an observer of the World Health Assembly and support Taiwan's full participation in WHO Technical meetings, such as the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network(GOARN), the Global Influenza Programme (GIP), and the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza (IPAPI).