Post on 10-Aug-2020
International Cooperation and Development Fund
Overview
The International Cooperation and Development
Fund (ICDF-TAIWAN) is dedicated to providing
overseas development assistance. The ICDF-
TAIWAN works in tandem with the government and
looks to share Taiwan’s successful development
experience with allies and friendly developing
countries. The assistance, which is designed with the
specific needs of each country in mind, is aimed at
relieving poverty, improving health and creating
wealth in said countries. The ICDF also actively
cooperates with international development
organizations and NGOs.
Medical service is borderless. Through its overseas
medical support mechanism, the ICDF-TAIWAN is
working to raise the medical standards of other
countries and promote health and harmony among the
public. This endeavor is also fulfilling the
responsibility of Taiwan with respect to the global
community. Taiwan’s medical missions not only are
active at the grassroots level, but also provide service
to government officials in the countries where they
are stationed. In doing so, they build trust and
friendship, increase mutual understanding and
cultivate better relationships, paving the way for long
term friendly ties.
The following is a brief description of the various
projects, highlighting medical- and health-related
work, which the ICDF-TAIWAN provides to its
partner nations.
Investment and Lending
The ICDF provides loans as well as grants to assist
the international community in projects that boost the
level of medical care and public health. Some of its
examples include:
● The ICDF-TAIWAN assisted Guatemala in
establishing seven medical stations and in
providing much-needed medical equipment such as
stretchers, diagnostic tools, and medicine cabinets.
● Emergency Regional Support to Address the
Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS): Since the SARS outbreak severely
impacted the economic and political environmental
of many Asian countries, the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) invited the ICDF-TAIWAN to share
Taiwan’s successful experience in containing
SARS. The ICDF-TAIWAN assistance helped
ADB member countries take preventative measures
against SARS and strengthened their public health
systems.
Taiwan’s International Health Cooperation Programs
Free clinical services are offered by a TaiwanYouth Overseas Serviceman in Burkina Faso.
Women and children wait to receive treatmentfrom the ICDF-TAIWAN Medical Mission.
International Cooperation and Development Fund
Medical Missions
Medical missions provide medical diagnosis services
at hospitals in the countries where they are stationed.
They provide clinical instruction and train local
doctors and nurses in an effort to raise the quality of
medical services in the host country. To meet local
health needs, mission members visit remote places
each year to provide free medical services. Mission
members also teach basic health and sanitation
concepts with the hope of improving overall living
conditions. Taiwan presently has four medical
missions stationed in Africa (Burkina Faso, Chad,
Malawi, and São Tomé and Príncipe) staffed with 21
doctors and medical specialists.
Technical Cooperation
The ICDF-TAIWAN provides technical assistance to
assist the international community in strengthening
levels of medical care and addressing public health
issues. Some of the examples are:
● The Eastern Caribbean Medical Equipment
Improvement Project: This project is aimed at
raising the level of grassroots medical care in
Eastern Caribbean nations. It is hoped that the
quality of community medical care in these nations
will be quickly improved.
● São Tomé and Príncipe Malaria Eradication Project:
Malaria is still one of the top ten causes of death in
São Tomé and Príncipe. The ICDF-TAIWAN is
utilizing Taiwan’s successful experience in
controlling malaria with the hope of helping that
country become a malaria-free area. The project
also aims to gradually help São Tomé and Príncipe
improve its overall health care system.
Taiwan Overseas Volunteers Program
The Taiwan Overseas Volunteers Program provides
specialized knowledge and skills to countries that ask
for such assistance. This helps promote social and
economic development in the host country. As of
March 2004, the ICDF has stationed 16 volunteers for
health-related service in Costa Rica, Panama, São
Tomé and Príncipe, and Nicaragua.
Taiwan Youth Overseas Service
Taiwan initiated the Youth Overseas Service program
in 2001 to provide men with an opportunity to expand
their international horizons and to help Taiwan boost
its international image. In the three years since the
initiation of the program, 112 men have been sent to
over 20 countries in Africa, Latin America, the
Caribbean and the Asia-Pacific. Of these, 20 have
provided medical-related services in Burkina Faso,
Chad, Malawi, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
A child falls asleep peacefully after being treated by the ICDF-TAIWAN Medical Mission in Burkina Faso.
A surgical team at the ICDF-TAIWAN Medical Mission in Chad.
International Cooperation and Development Fund
Humanitarian Assistance
The ICDF’s humanitarian assistance operations focus
on providing emergency disaster relief, care and
reconstruction assistance to diplomatic allies and
friendly countries. In addition, grassroots medical,
sanitation, nutritional, and poverty relief assistance is
provided to allies and friendly countries based on
need.
In the past, the ICDF provided yellow fever vaccines,
as well as vaccine cold transport and storage
equipment to Senegal and The Gambia. ICDF has also
cooperated with the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corp
in providing free medical clinics to The Gambia, the
Philippines, and Sri Lanka, and to Tibetan refugees in
Northern India.
In recent years, the ICDF-TAIWAN has strengthened
medical and public health humanitarian assistance
around the world. In particular, it has sought to raise
the quality of health care at the grassroots level.
Examples include providing medical assistance to
ethnic Chinese refugee villages in Northern Thailand,
cooperating with the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help
Center and Taiwanese NGOs to provide medical
assistance for Tibetan refugees in India, providing
medical assistance in the Altai area of Russia, and
supplying grassroots medical humanitarian assistance
in Mongolia’s South Gobi province. Mobile hospitals
are used in all of these cases to boost medical care. In
addition, the ICDF-TAIWAN and the Tibetan Refugee
Self-Help Center cooperate on improving basic
medical equipment. The ICDF-TAIWAN has also
cooperated with the Noordhoff Craniofacial
Foundation to bring a youngster from Africa to
Taiwan for medical care. The ICDF-TAIWAN has
also donated medicine to treat roundworm in
Paraguay, hoping to improve the health of the
underprivileged in that nation.
At the present time, the ICDF-TAIWAN is
cooperating with Mercy Corps on a program to
provide health and sanitation education and improve
grassroots facilities in the Ferghana Valley of
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrzikstan.
International Human ResourceTraining
The ICDF’s international human resource training
operations aim to assist allies and friendly countries to
nurture the required human resources to support
economic and social development. The ICDF-
TAIWAN fully realizes that helping to nurture talent is
a fundamental requirement supporting long-term
development. In 1999, it held a public health
workshop in which health officials from friendly
developing countries were familiarized with Taiwan’s
experience and measures in public health. A total of
25 officials from Fiji, Burkina Faso, and El Salvador
Volunteer Yu Chin-mei assists Costa Rican medicalworkers with their work.
The ICDF-TAIWAN Medical Mission in São Tomé andPríncipe holds free clinical services for local people.
International Cooperation and Development Fund
came to Taiwan for the training course. Starting in
2003, the ICDF-TAIWAN began the Graduate and
Postgraduate Scholarship Programs -- Master of
Science Program in International Health. This shares
Taiwan’s success in public health development with
the international community and provides more
opportunities for international medical technology
cooperation and exchanges. Presently, four students,
from Malawi, Swaziland, Burkina Faso and Honduras,
are taking the coursework in Taiwan.
Programs Open for Applications
● Medical Training and Research Fellowships
● International Public Health Seminars
● Assistance in Medical Equipment
and Pharmaceuticals
● Assistance in Community Health Management
● Overseas Medical Missions and Clinics
● Youth Overseas Services
Also please contact the nearest Taiwan Embassyor Representative Office:
Staff members provide medical services to Tibetan refugeesat the ICDF-donated Mobile Diagnostic Clinic and ResearchCenter (left).
For further information please contact: ICDF-TAIWAN
14F, NO. 9, Lane 62, Tien Mou West Rd.
Taipei, Taiwan, 111
Telephone+ 886 (2) 2873-2323 ext.300, 305
Fax+886 (2) 2876-6475, 2876-6570
E-mail: service@icdf.org.tw
http://www.icdf.org.tw