Download Address at the Opening Ceremony of GCTF Dengue Training

Address at the Opening Ceremony of GCTF Dengue Training Course in Tainan
Minister of Health and Welfare Chiang, CDC Director-General Kuo, AIT Acting Director
Forden, Ambassador Chiang, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection
Administration Chang, National Cheng Kung University President Su, distinguished
guests, friends from around the world: Good morning.
On behalf of our two million citizens, I would like to first welcome all of you to Tainan,
Taiwan’s ancient capital.
Today’s conference couldn’t have taken place at a better time because Tainan citizens
just experienced a hard fight against dengue fever in the past several months. The
prevention of epidemics like SARS, MERS, Ebola and dengue fever has become a
global security issue. I want to take this opportunity to briefly share with you Tainan’s
experience of fighting against dengue fever.
This year’s severe outbreak of dengue fever in Tainan was related to global warming
and El Niño, which occurs every two to five years. The draught in Taiwan earlier this
year prompted the public to save water in containers, which led to the breeding of
mosquito larvae. In addition, heavy rainfall brought by two powerful typhoons this
summer had increased the difficulty in cleaning up stagnant water. Imported cases, a
new dengue virus, and the high frequency of domestic infection also made the
control of dengue fever more challenging than before.
Faced with the worst outbreak of dengue fever in recent years, Tainan City
Government had taken the following measures. We worked with the MHW (Ministry
of Health and Welfare) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) to set up a
command center. Government agencies worked with industries and academia to
bring the public and private sectors together. We coordinated with the national army
and community volunteers to spray infected areas. We integrated and allocated
hospital resources. We used government authority to enforce disease control
measures. And most importantly, we incorporated the concept of “open data” and
GPS and GIS techniques to collect and assess information. Despite limited resources,
we raised our citizens’ crisis awareness so that they could improve self-management
and clean up their environments. The outbreak, which peaked in mid-September and
began to abate in late September, finally is now contained.
Tainan City’s philosophy in facing such a dengue outbreak is “to turn the crisis into an
opportunity.” We hope that the lessons we have learned from this outbreak will lay a
foundation for us to make Tainan a cleaner and healthier city in the future.
The incidence of dengue fever in Taiwan is not an isolated case. Dengue fever has
also hit Asian countries like Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore
and India, and South American nations such as Brazil and Columbia. The control of
dengue epidemics has become a global challenge. We need to work together and
help each other in preventing it.
First, I recommend that the Executive Yuan establish a dengue response center in
southern Taiwan. The MHW has established the Southeast Asia Ebola Training Center
in Tainan City’s South District in March this year. I would suggest the central
government further integrate these centers with international NGOs in related fields
into a “Southeast Asia Research Center on Public Health Security.” Tainan City
Government will welcome this initiative and help to achieve its objective.
Second, countries across the world need to demonstrate their determination to deal
with climate issues. Climate change has caused serious consequences, including the
spread of diseases like dengue. The current UN climate change conference in Paris is
held to tackle climate change and global warming. Climate issues have no doubt
attracted global attention. It is crucial that participants in the Paris talks reach a
global climate agreement that can effectively cope with the impacts of climate
change.
Third, as there are no specific ways to treat dengue, prevention is currently limited to
vector control measures. A dengue vaccine would therefore represent a major
advance in the control of the disease. It is vital that we support and contribute to
dengue vaccine research and development.
I was a physician before I entered politics. Health is a vocation to which I attach the
utmost importance. The goal of every government and country is to ensure the
health and happiness of its people. Let us work together to safeguard the health of
mankind and bring enduring blessings to our world.
I wish the conference every great success. Thank you very much.