The 77th World Health Assembly (WHA), which will run from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva, is the first international conference that Taiwan seeks to attend after the inauguration of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on May 20. The theme for this year’s assembly is “All for Health, Health for All.”
During a legislative session on Wednesday, Health Minister Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) reported that Taiwan has not yet received an invitation. Taiwan has not received an official invitation to attend the WHA since 2016. Representatives from Taiwan were permitted to participate in the WHA as non-voting observers from 2009 to 2016.
Nonetheless, the government annually sends delegations to champion Taiwan's inclusion in the WHA. Last year’s delegation was led by Minister Hsueh and it is expected that Health Minister-designate Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) will be leading this year’s delegation.
