Taiwan provides funding to healthcare project in Somaliland

Taiwan on Monday (Oct. 3) provided funds from the Maternal and Infant Health Care Improvement Project to Somaliland, allowing the East African nation to purchase urgently needed medical equipment.

According to the agreement, Taiwan is funding US$300,000 (NT$9.5 million) this year, allowing Somaliland to purchase two ambulances, a portable ultrasound machine, an infant incubator, and infant and adult oximeters. Taiwan Representative to Somaliland Allen Lou (羅震華) said his nation is willing to share its experience with Somaliland to help infants and their mothers to have better medical care, per the Somaliland Chronicle.

In order to improve Somaliland’s maternal and infant health care capacity, the Taiwan and Somaliland governments launched the Maternal and Infant Health Care Improvement Project, which falls under the framework of the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) Technical Cooperation Agreement, in June. “This bilateral cooperation shows the spirit of Taiwan’s model of assistance, which not only provides vital tangible equipment but also enhances the capacity-building,” the Taiwanese Representative Office in Somaliland said.

The project is a joint effort of the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland, Taiwan ICDF, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, and the Somaliland Ministry of Health Development.

Lou said that the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland aims to “integrate the ongoing cooperation to maximize the cooperation effect to benefit the Somaliland people directly and without leaving any ‘debt traps’.” He added that he believes after more African countries understand Taiwan’s model of cooperation in Somaliland, they will be more eager to work with Taiwan.

Late last month, wheelchairs were donated to Somaliland by Taiwan’s Pu-Hsein Educational Foundation and Cao Zhong Zhi Foundation.

Allen Lou (羅震華), Taiwan’s representative to Somaliland, attended an event commemorating International Week of Deaf People and the handover of wheelchairs donated by Taiwanese NGOs to physically handicapped Somalilanders.

The wheelchairs were provided by Pu-Hsein Educational Foundation and Cao Zhong Zhi Foundation and will be utilized to benefit the underprivileged, according to the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland. Taiwan has always believed that “Care, sympathy, and empathy transcend borders,” Lou said.

There is a Somaliland saying that “if a man gives something from his pocket to help you, there is one man; if a man mediates from another person’s pocket to help you, there are two men,” the representative added.

Taiwan looks forward to exploring more opportunities for humanitarian and emergency cooperation with like-minded partners, INGOs, and NGOs in Somaliland in the future, Lou said.

Taiwan and Somaliland began deepening bilateral relations in 2020 with the mutual establishment of representative offices the same year.