At Thursday's weekly Cabinet meeting, Premier Chen Chien-jen received a briefing from the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) on a resource deployment program for providing more comprehensive care services for people with mental and physical disabilities. The MOHW will invest more than NT$48 billion (US$1.5 billion) over five years, working with local governments and specialist private sector organizations to strengthen the diversity, accessibility and responsiveness of care services, as well as augment staffing levels and stabilize and improve the working conditions of care staff. These reforms will enhance the quality and capacity of care services, effectively lightening the burden on families caring for people with mental and physical disabilities.
The government has already deployed resources and funding toward social services for disabled people, the premier said. However, many challenges still remain: Taiwan's impending transition to a super-aged society, the keen demand for disability care services, and insufficient support for household caregivers, as well as other issues disclosed in the MOHW's 2021 survey of the living conditions and demands of disabled people. In order to uphold the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the government will urgently strengthen implementation of the program to solve these issues and improve disability care services.