NATMA will send a delegation to Geneva in May NATMA will send a delegation to Geneva in May (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The North American Taiwanese Medical Association (NATMA) will send a delegation to the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva in May to plead Taiwan’s case for joining the World Health Organization (WHO), reports said Friday (Feb. 21).

As the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) keeps expanding across Asia and the world, Taiwan’s efforts to join the WHO in the face of China’s obstruction have been receiving growing attention and support.

The largest organization of Taiwanese physicians overseas, NATMA, announced at a news conference in Los Angeles Thursday (Feb. 20) that it would sent representatives to Geneva during the WHA to defend Taiwan’s case.

In an open letter, the group called on the government of Taiwan to enlist its friends in the U.S. Congress and European legislatures to persuade the WHO to give Taiwan membership status and allow it to attend the WHA meeting, CNA reported.

NATMA has sent groups of volunteers to Latin America to provide healthcare assistance, and members have also traveled to Taiwan to work in remote areas.

In the past, the country attended the WHA for eight years, showing the world how it could contribute to the improvement of healthcare, CNA quoted NATMA members as saying.

Given its efficient health insurance system and its modern healthcare, Taiwan deserves to be part of WHO and to attend the WHA, especially at a critical time such as during the coronavirus outbreak, the activists said.