The public health safeguards of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA) and the Port of Kaohsiung have been found to be excellent, Executive Yuan officials said today.
This conclusion was made by experts from Australia's Department of Health and Ageing, who were invited to visit Taiwan in mid-March to conduct a follow-up evaluation based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Health Regulations (IHR) of the ports' ability to control the international spread of disease.
The facilities were assessed on their core capabilities regarding public health hazards, and they scored high on communication, coordination, detection and emergency response.
A preliminary assessment was conducted on the two ports in August 2011 by Japanese experts.
Although Taiwan is not a WHO member, it has fully and proactively participated in global health affairs and adhered to international norms and regulations, the Executive Yuan noted. The nation has taken the initiative to establish screening, detection and response capabilities at designated ports in order to more effectively bar infectious diseases from entering the country through international vessels.
TTIA received a full 100 marks and Kaohiung Port 99.9 marks in the experts' evaluations, a massive improvement from the preliminary assessments of the two ports that garnered 91 and 97 marks, respectively. All these scores far exceed the WHO-stipulated requirement of 80 marks, demonstrating the designated air and sea ports' core capabilities are on par with those of the most advanced nations.
The Australian experts pointed out that Taiwan has focused particularly on coordination and collaboration and on cultivating personnel's professional abilities. The ministries were lauded for their strong focus on these spheres and the personnel's devotion and dedication, which contributed to the huge improvement in the performance evaluation.
In the 2011 preliminary assessment, capabilities to respond to nuclear and biochemical disasters were found inadequate; however, after consolidating physical facilities in the two ports, reformulating response procedures and enhancing personnel training, the ports are now sufficiently equipped for preliminary detection and disaster response.
With the risk of new epidemics rising in tandem with the increase in international flights, control and containment at air and sea ports have become especially important. The Australian experts expect Taiwan to continue working on core capabilities in designated ports and flexibly adjusting its overall IHR strategy to meet current needs in order to effectively respond to future challenges.
The IHR (2005), which were adopted by the WHO in 2005 and went into force in 2007, specify that each country must establish and designate certain airports and ports as communication, coordination, detection and response centers. The Executive Yuan in 2011 approved a plan for establishing these facilities which designated the TTIA and the Port of Kaohsiung as its authorized IHR airport and port, respectively, and created an inter-ministerial central government task force to implement this project. These moves are meant to fulfill the international obligations of WHO members and bolster ROC ports' competitive advantages.
Under the successive leadership of Ministers without Portfolio Lin Jung-tzer, Yang Chiu-hsing and Chang San-cheng, the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Environmental Protection Administration, Coast Guard Administration, Atomic Energy Commission and Council of Agriculture have worked tirelessly with port authorities to strengthen both routine monitoring and responses to public health emergencies to safeguard lives and property, officials said.