By Wu Po-hsuan / Staff reporterNational Yang-Ming University president Steve Kuo (郭旭崧), former head of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), called on the government to establish an “Asia-Pacific epidemic prevention center” that would enable it to contribute to global epidemic prevention efforts. Through the US Department of State, the US gathered its Southeast Asian allies in Taiwan to attend epidemic prevention training with experts who had experience in Africa, and gradually created a model for international epidemic prevention cooperation, Kuo said. However, public health and epidemic prevention cannot only rely on the government, he said, adding that “industry-academic” connections are important. He came up with the concept of establishing an alliance between epidemic prevention and industry later in his tenure as CDC director-general, Kuo said. The Ministry of the Interior is planning an international healthcare section inside the Taoyuan Aerotropolis and hopes to invite the healthcare industry to participate in a build-operate-transfer model, he said.
