SCR 11 – VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
07May2008… 1236h
06/05/08 1956eba
2008 SESSION
05/10
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 11
A RESOLUTION supporting the application of Taiwan for observer status at the World Health Organization.
SPONSORS: Sen. Foster, Dist 13; Rep. Foster, Hills 4; Rep. Rosenwald, Hills 22
This senate concurrent resolution supports the application of Taiwan for observer status at the World Health Organization.
07May2008… 1236h
06/05/08 1956eba
08-2900
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
A RESOLUTION supporting the application of Taiwan for observer status at the World Health Organization.
Whereas, good health is essential to every citizen of the world, and access to the highest standards of health information and services is necessary to improve public health; and
Whereas, the first chapter of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) charter sets the goal of attaining the highest possible level of health for all persons; and
Whereas, Taiwan’s achievements in the field of health are substantial, including one of the world’s highest life expectancy levels in Asia; maternal and infant mortality rates comparable to those of western countries; the eradication of such infectious diseases as cholera, smallpox, and the plague; and the first nation to eradicate polio and provide children with Hepatitis B vaccinations; and
Whereas, Taiwan’s 23.5 million population is larger than three-fourths of the member states already in the WHO; and
Whereas, with the great potential of the cross-border spread of diseases, such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, malaria, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002, and the recent outbreak of avian flu, it is crucial for all countries, including Taiwan, to have direct and unobstructed access to information and assistance from the WHO in order to limit successfully the spread of various infectious diseases; and
Whereas, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its Taiwanese counterpart agencies have enjoyed close collaboration on a wide range of public health issues; and
Whereas, in 2002, the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate authorized the Secretary of State to endorse observer status for Taiwan at the World Health Assembly and the House of Representatives repeated its endorsement in 2006; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the New Hampshire general court commends Taiwan’s efforts to improve world health and supports its efforts to gain observer status at the World Health Organization; and
That the senate clerk shall send copies of this resolution to the President of the United States; to the United States Secretary of State; to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services; to the director-general of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland; and to the Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston.