The impact of climate disasters on Taiwan is intensifying. Since July, the island has been battered by three consecutive typhoons—Danas, Vipa, and Yangliu—with the coastal regions of Chiayi and Tainan suffering severe agricultural losses and infrastructure damage due to heavy rainfall. Experts warn that this is not only an environmental challenge but also a serious public health crisis.
“The climate crisis is a health crisis!” said Chih-Hung Chen, Deputy Convener of the Presidential Office’s Health Taiwan Promotion Committee and Emeritus Professor at National Cheng Kung University College of Medicine. In an interview, he emphasized that medical institutions serve as both the first and last line of defense. Only by integrating healthcare systems into national climate action can Taiwan safeguard lives while maintaining medical quality, environmental sustainability, and social justice during crises.
The government has also accelerated disaster recovery efforts. On July 29, the Executive Yuan established the Yun-Chia-Tainan Post-Disaster Recovery Forward Command Center, and in August, it passed the Post-Disaster Reconstruction Special Act, allocating up to NT$60 billion for reconstruction across agriculture, power, telecommunications, and public health, covering areas from central and southern Taiwan to Hualien, Taitung, and Miaoli.
However, with increasingly frequent extreme weather events, Taiwan’s healthcare system must transform. Chen stressed that medical resilience relies not only on infrastructure but also on a people-centered approach, including: establishing early warning and risk management systems, ensuring uninterrupted medical services during disasters, training healthcare professionals with climate expertise, integrating community support networks, and promoting green healthcare—from waste management to energy, transportation, and pharmaceutical procurement, all aimed at carbon reduction.
Over the past year, the Health Taiwan Promotion Committee, led by Vice President Lai Ching-te, has translated the Health Taiwan vision into action through five major pillars: implementing the national cancer prevention program, executing the 888 initiative for controlling hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia, strengthening mental health resilience nationwide, launching the Health Taiwan Deepening Program, and optimizing the sustainability of national health insurance. Among these, the Health Taiwan Deepening Program stands out as a key initiative. Spanning five years with a total budget of NT$48.9 billion, the program focuses on improving healthcare work environments, cultivating diverse talent, advancing smart healthcare technologies, and promoting socially responsible, sustainable medical practices, while encouraging innovative low-carbon and energy-saving solutions from the medical community.
Hospitals in Taiwan represent the largest energy consumers and carbon emitters among non-manufacturing sectors, with air conditioning alone accounting for 60% of consumption. Chen called on the healthcare sector to collectively propose local solutions, promoting digitalization and carbon reduction in tandem to strengthen societal resilience and meet climate challenges. He stressed that the three most critical national issues today are climate change, health promotion, and social resilience. By reforming the healthcare system, Taiwan can not only protect the present but also pave a sustainable and healthy path for future generations.
Resource: 氣候危機就是健康危機！ 陳志鴻：醫療韌性刻不容緩
