Last year the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) – Taiwan's premier development assistance organization – dispatched 16 Mobile Medical Missions (MMMs) to twelve countries in Africa, Central America, and the South Pacific. These teams of volunteer doctors, nurses, and medical personnel, provided treatment to a total of 35,000 men, women and children, many of whom live far from medical resources, or are too poor to afford treatment at a hospital.

One MMM was dispatched for two weeks to Peten, Guatemala. This remote town had been devastated by Hurricane Stan, and its population was in great need of medical attention and supplies.

Some members of the MMM to Ocos related the story of a woman who traveled many kilometers on foot to the medical station, carrying her dehydrated baby. She covered a distance that would usually take three hours by car, and reached the station on the last day of its visit, just as the members of the MMM were preparing to leave for another destination. Fortunately, she was just in the nick of time, and the MMM staff were able to attend to the baby.

“In carrying out their mission, medical staff confront harsh climates, poor health conditions, and crowds of patients,” said Foreign Minister James C.F. Huang, who is also chairman of the TaiwanICDF. “With such long working hours, and demanding circumstances, patience and passion for service are as important as professionalism.”

▲TaiwanICDF MMM staff attend to a dehydrated baby in Peten Guatemala. The child's mother had carried him for several hours before arriving at the medical station for treatment.

“If the World Were a Village of 100 People”

The book entitled“If the World Were a Village of 100 People” suggests that if this world of 6.3 billion people were shrunk, 20 out of 100 people would be undernourished, one would be dying of starvation, and 15 would be overweight. Seventy-five people would have some supply of food and a place to shelter them from the wind and the rain, but 25 would not. Seventeen would have no clean, safe water to drink.

While most people actually live more comfortably than they realize, a great number struggle in the face of desperate economic and health conditions.

A report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) showed that in 2006, 1.1 billion people didn't have access to clean water, and every 15 seconds a child died from an illness caused by unclean water and poor hygiene.

The UNDP lists improvements in medical services and hygiene as a priority in international humanitarian assistance, to help people in developing countries move away from poverty and sickness.

“Mobile Medical Missions are Taiwan's response to those challenges,” says Chen Cheng-chung, secretary general of the TaiwanICDF, “and a way to enhance our participation and influence in the arena of global health.”

▲Children wait patiently in line at an MMM station in Swaziland.

Forty-five years of assistance　

Taiwan's international medical assistance programs can be traced back to 1962 when six military doctors helped the Libyan government improve its medical system. Since then, Taiwan has stationed medical missions in various African nations, and currently has resident missions in Burkina Faso, Sao Tome and Principe, and Malawi.

In February 2006, the TaiwanICDF, in keeping with its philosophy of integrating resources from both the public and private sectors, cooperated with Taiwan Non-governmental Hospitals and Clinics Association (NHCA), and Chang Gung University's (CGU) College of Medicine, to found the International Healthcare Cooperation Strategic Alliance (IHCSA) as a vehicle to dispatch MMMs, primarily to diplomatic allies and friendly nations.

Whereas stationed medical missions remain in a country to thoroughly familiarize themselves with its health needs and carry out extensive research on ways to improve conditions, MMMs have the advantages of mobility and low operational costs. Moreover, the shorter durations of their stays are usually compatible with the work schedules of highly-qualified medical personnel from different fields, making it possible for such missions to address a variety of health issues.

The IHCSA comprises 31 medical organizations plus CGU's College of Medicine. Last year, seven IHCSA members formed sister hospital relationships with major medical establishments in partner countries. The aim of these arrangements is to forge long-term ties, share invalauble medical expertise, and train medical personnel, with a view to assisting partner countries in their efforts to build self-sustaining healthcare systems.

MMMs bring together the skills of a variety of professionals, such as gynecologists, pediatricians, dentists, pharmacists, and nursing staff. This diversity of professional backgrounds is essential in confronting the challenges posed by the specific health conditions of different nations.

For example, last year the IHCSA sent an MMM to Tuvalu, the world's second smallest country, and also the second least populated, with around 11,000 people. During its 10-day mission, the team members provided treatment and health education on the right diet — the intake of the average Tuvalan is high in sodium and fat. The mission also trained local medical staff in the operation of advanced medical equipment.

▲Solomon Islanders carry medical supplies and equipment from the shore. TaiwanICDF staff braved rough seas to bring relief to this remote village, which had not previously been visited by foreign medical groups.

Gaining through giving

“Medical mission volunteers gain more when they give their time and energies to helping those in need,” said Chiou Wun-da, the executive director of the NHCA. “By practicing in foreign countries, medical staff from Taiwan gain experience in dealing with illnesses such as malaria, which are no longer prevalent in Taiwan.”

“Most of all, in a situation with only poor medical equipment available, they have to use their ingenuity to ensure that the patients are treated properly.”

Chiou, who is also the superintendent of Taipei Medical University Municipal Wan Fang Hospital, said that his interest and passion for the work drive him to continue participating in international medical missions to developing countries.

Meanwhile, last year, for the first time, the TaiwanICDF and Wan Fang Hospital dispatched an MMM to the Marshall Islands. Wan Fang sent two ophthalmologists to treat locals suffering from glaucoma due to diabetes. Surgeons, who formed part of the mission, performed operations and orthopedists treated patients with bone problems.

“Through such missions, the TaiwanICDF and its medical staff show their love ... ” said Chiou. “They feel happy because they bring happiness to others.”

• Update: 2022/05/11
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