'Very difficult' for Taiwan to join WHO Pandemic Agreement: CDC official

Taipei, June 5 (CNA) Joining the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement will be "very difficult" for Taiwan under current conditions, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said Wednesday.

With an objective of preventing, preparing for and responding to pandemics, the proposed agreement -- first initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic -- was expected to be finalized and passed during the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA) held from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva.

However, due to issues such as resource allocation and technical aspects of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, consensus was not reached by member states, and the WHA announced a one-year extension of negotiations, Lo said during a legislative committee meeting.

When asked by lawmakers about the likelihood of Taiwan joining the agreement, Lo said that while there might be adjustments in the text and terms used in the agreement in the coming year, its current wording requires the status of "member state" to be part of the agreement, making it "very difficult" for Taiwan to join it.

Tony Chen (陳秀熙), a professor at the College of Public Health at National Taiwan University, has said that joining the agreement would allow Taiwan to swiftly obtain information and acquire necessary epidemic prevention materials for its citizens.

If Taiwan is unable to join the agreement, the authorities will focus on areas such as strengthening the foundation of domestic epidemic prevention, including preparing vaccines and medicines, Lo added.

Taiwan, not a member of the United Nations, could not attend this year's WHA as it did not receive an invitation for an eighth consecutive year. Nevertheless, it still sent a delegation to the Swiss city to promote Taiwan's participation in the WHA, the decision-making body of the WHO.

Lo was a member of the delegation led by Health Minister Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源).

The Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan's official name) left the WHO in 1972 following a decision by the U.N. to expel the ROC and recognize the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the only "legitimate representative of China."

Since then, Taiwan has been unable to attend the WHA due to pressure from Beijing, except from 2009 to 2016 as an observer using the name "Chinese Taipei" when relations with China were warmer under the then-Kuomintang (KMT) government.

The 2016 appearance came just days after former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party took office.

Meanwhile, during the same legislative meeting, an update about the intravenous (IV) fluid shortage in Taiwan was provided by Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) Director-General Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) and National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良).

Multiple deficiencies at Y F Chemical Corp., which used to produce around 70 percent of Taiwan's IV fluid before halting manufacturing in May, have yet to be corrected, making it impossible to grant the company permission to resume operations, according to the two officials.

Other local pharmaceutical companies have coordinated to increase production of IV fluid.

An emergency import scheme for IV fluid, with a budget of approximately NT$250 million (US$ 7.72 million) to import about 4 million bottles of IV fluid, has also been initiated and is expected to continue until October, the officials said.