The Ministry of Health and Welfare presented Taiwan’s experiences and achievements in establishing a supportive nutrition environment to support the formulation of global strategies and action plans on maternal and child nutrition by the World Health Organization at the 67th World Health Assembly 


The 67th World Health Assembly (WHA) took place between May 19 and May 24, 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Shu-Ti Chiou, Director-General of the Health Promotion Administration (HPA), said that, in echoing Taiwan’s commitment in fulfilling two of the Millennium Development Goals (No. 4, to reduce child mortality, and No. 5, to improve maternal health) proposed by the United Nations, we proactively participated as an observer and spoke on the technical issue regarding the promotion of maternal and child health and nutrition in Committee A of the WHA. In addition to sharing Taiwan’s past experiences, we had also offered constructive suggestions based on the reports issued by the Secretariat of the WHA. Taiwan’s past experiences on the action plan to promote women’s and children’s health and nutrition were as follows: 


(I)Establishing a supportive nutrition environment to respond to the global strategies and action plans on maternal and child nutrition initiated by the WHO 
In response to the global strategies on nutrition of pregnant women and infants by the WHO, Director-General Chiou of the HPA said that breastfeeding has become one of the important strategies in promoting the prevention of non-communicable diseases using a life course approach. The certification program for mother-friendly hospitals has been in effect for more than 12 years in Taiwan, with 79.2% of newborns delivered at such hospitals. In Taiwan, the rate of pure breastfeeding of newborns aged 6 months or younger had reached 48.7% in 2012, surpassing the global average of 38% between 2005 and 2012. 
In order to promote women’s and children’s health and nutrition, improper marketing of food to children is strictly prohibited. Director-General Chiou also proclaimed that Taiwan will abide by the international regulations on sales for breast milk substitutes. Marketing and advertisements of infant formula in medical institutions have been prohibited through the certification program for mother-friendly hospitals since ten years ago. In 2013, the amendment to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation clearly stipulated that promotion and advertisement of food that can easily lead to chronic diseases or inappropriate for long-term consumption by children can be prohibited. Any advertisement and promotion of formula for infants aged 12 months or above is prohibited, including free gifts, samples, or information that conveys the formula is equivalent or superior to breast milk. 
Additionally, the Act Governing Breastfeeding in Public Places has already gone into effect, encouraging public places and workplaces to provide breastfeeding rooms through industry-academia collaboration. The regulations of the Act of Gender Equality in Employment also state that parents in a family with children under the age of 3 can take turns applying for parental leave. During their leave, they are entitled to 60% of their regular wages for a cumulative period of 1 year. Breastfeeding working mothers with children under the age of 1 are entitled to have 30 minutes for breastfeeding twice per day to create a breastfeeding friendly workplace. 
The HPA had published guidelines (e.g. information of crucial trace nutrients, such as folate, iodine and iron; dieting instruction and brochure) to help fortify the nutritional needs of women during various stages in their pregnancy. Additionally, children under the age of 7 are entitled to health checkups (7 times, including general health education) and health education on special topics (2 times, provided by pediatricians). 

(II)Highlighting and monitoring people’s nutritional needs to support the development of a global surveillance framework and technology on women’s and children’s nutrition initiated by the WHO 
Director-General Chiou pointed out that our government attaches great importance to people’s trace nutrients (such as iron and iodine) as well as pregnant women’s folate consumption. Currently, the health needs of Taiwanese people are studied through monitoring and the use of health-scientific evaluation approaches. We will also support the drafts for the development of a “global monitoring framework on maternal, infant and young child nutrition” and “risk assessment and management tools for conflicts of interest in nutrition” proposed by the WHO. 
In response to the healthcare needs for the new-generation pregnant women, Director General Chiou of the HPA mentioned that women’s and children’s health is the most important issues in public health. In order to continue to promote women’s and children’s health in Taiwan, our government will follow the five global action strategies on “nutrition of women, infants and children” proposed by the WHO. These strategies include establishing and practicing comprehensive supportive environment for food and nutrition policies; including effective health intervention measures on influence of nutrition in national nutrition projects; developing inter-departmental and collaborative projects and policies to facilitate the understanding and inclusion of the concepts of nutrition; and providing sufficient manpower and financial resources to implement and monitor nutrition intervention measures, as well as evaluating policies and outcomes of related projects. All the aforementioned measures are aimed at continuously promoting women’s and children’s nutrition as well as safeguarding their health.