Lai vows to hold annual review of healthcare policies

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) President-elect Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has pledged to convene an annual health symposium on April 27 to assess the progress in implementing healthcare policies.

Lai made the commitment on Saturday, ahead of his inauguration on May 20, at the concluding session of a series of "Healthy Taiwan" forums, which were part of the "National Project of Hope" Lai presented during his election campaign last year.

Five of the national health forums were held around Taiwan from March 23 to April 14 and the concluding session took place in Taipei on Saturday.

Lai said the new government will allocate an annual budget for the implementation of 10 suggestions and an initiative proposed at the forums and will promote other policies such as long-term care in combination with geriatric medicine, smart medical and health care, and health policies targeting indigenous people.

Among the 10 proposals, one aims to reduce the cancer mortality rate by one third of what it was 222.7 per 100,000 population in 2022 by 2030, although it is a goal hard to achieve, Lai said.

The cancer mortality rate rose 1.2 percent in 2022 to 222.7 per 100,000 population from a year earlier, according to the latest data released by Ministry of Health and Welfare last year.

The president-elect added, however, that establishing a NT$10 billion (US$306.55 million) fund with a focus on the development of emerging technologies to treat cancer patients is under planning.

Others include offering mental health leave to students and advancing long-term care, he said.

The suggestions also include tackling a shortage of pediatricians, and increasing rates of cancer screening, according to former National Cheng Kung University Hospital superintendent Chen Jyh-hong (陳志鴻), also the convener of the "Healthy Taiwan" forum.

Health care experts also proposed a Healthy Taiwan Sprout Project, suggesting the government initiate the program with four main themes next year -- optimizing healthcare professionals' working conditions, talent cultivation, smart medical services, and social responsibility, Chen added.