President Lai’s committee is looking to redefine public health in the 21st century.

Taiwan has long been praised for its efficient and accessible healthcare system. But as the population ages and chronic diseases become more prevalent, the need is growing to shift from a treatment-focused model to one that prioritizes prevention and long-term wellness.

The Healthy Taiwan Initiative spearheaded by President Lai Ching-te embodies that shift, introducing comprehensive reforms centered on preventive care, chronic disease management, digital health integration, and expanded mental health services.

At the heart of the initiative is the Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee, a high-level advisory body convened by President Lai and composed of medical professionals, policymakers, and public health experts.

The committee has crafted a comprehensive roadmap to tackle the nation’s most urgent healthcare challenges. It’s responsible for guiding policy implementation, monitoring progress, and ensuring that resources are strategically deployed to deliver measurable improvements in public health.

“With Healthy Taiwan, we are shifting our focus to early detection, preventive medicine, and better chronic disease management to add healthy years to life,” says Dr. Chen Jyh-hong, deputy convener of the Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee and professor emeritus at National Cheng Kung University Hospital.

A longtime mentor to Lai since Lai’s days as a young physician, Dr. Chen was among the first people Lai consulted when envisioning a plan to enhance Taiwan’s healthcare system. Drawing on his decades of experience and deep connections within the medical community, Dr. Chen helped transform Lai’s vision into a concrete national strategy.

Lowering the three highs

Lai’s Healthy Taiwan initiative focuses on five central areas: tobacco hazard control, nutrition and health promotion, physical activity promotion, cancer prevention and control, and prevention of non-communicable diseases.

The latter area includes the “888 program,” which aims to bring 80% of patients with at least one of “three highs” – high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high cholesterol – into a coordinated healthcare network within the next eight years. The goal is for 80% of three-highs patients to join a care network, 80% of those to receive lifestyle counseling, and 80% to achieve condition control.

“Currently, only about 50% of patients with these conditions have their risk factors properly controlled,” says Dr. Chen. By focusing on the three highs, the government can improve timely diagnosis and management of non-communicable diseases, which account for a significant portion of Taiwan’s healthcare burden.

To strengthen disease management, the initiative emphasizes early screening, lifestyle interventions, and digital health tools that deliver more personalized care. It also seeks to ease the burden on overcrowded medical centers by shifting routine patient management to family physicians and community clinics, enhancing both efficiency and continuity.

As part of its approach to cardiovascular care, the initiative incorporates artificial intelligence and big data analytics to assess patient risk. By analyzing national health records, AI tools can stratify patients by risk level, Dr. Chen says. Those at lower risk can be managed by primary care physicians, while high-risk individuals are referred for closer monitoring and specialist treatment.

“Patients need to be engaged much earlier,” Dr. Chen says. “The minimum age for free health checkups has been lowered from 40 to 30 years old, so we can identify risks sooner and prevent serious complications later in life.”

Studies have shown that many patients diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes, or high cholesterol don’t consistently follow prescribed treatments due to lack of awareness of their condition or reluctance to take long-term medication. To address this issue, the initiative incorporates community health workshops, telemedicine consultations, and mobile health apps that provide real-time reminders and guidance.

Another key aspect is the integration of nutrition and physical activity programs into routine healthcare. The government is working with public health experts to develop customized dietary plans and exercise routines tailored to individuals with metabolic syndromes.

“We need a holistic approach,” Dr. Chen says. “Doctors, nutritionists, and physical therapists have to collaborate to provide patients with a complete lifestyle plan.”

To strengthen access to care and promote healthier outcomes, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) is expanding subsidies for preventive screenings and introducing financial incentives for patients who achieve specific health improvement goals. The initiative is designed to encourage individuals to take a more proactive role in managing their health.

Cancer breakthrough 2030

Perhaps the most ambitious objective of the Healthy Taiwan initiative is to reduce cancer mortality by one-third by 2030 – an aspiration inspired by former U.S. President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot. First launched by President Barack Obama in 2016 and revived in 2022, the Cancer Moonshot seeks to cut the U.S. cancer death rate by at least half over 25 years while improving the lives of those affected by the disease.

“When Taiwan’s goal was first announced, some people called it ‘mission impossible,’” says Dr. Chen. In response, he says, Lai noted that “when we aim high, we can reach our full potential.” 

To ensure that these efforts reach all corners of society, the government is raising cancer awareness through public education campaigns, encouraging early screening participation, and reducing stigma surrounding cancer diagnoses.

Lung, liver, colorectal, and breast cancer continue to be the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in Taiwan. In response, the government has sharply increased funding for early-stage intervention, focusing on these high-impact cancers.

Lung cancer became Taiwan’s “triple champion” in terms of high mortality rate, incidence rate, and proportion of late-stage diagnosis in 2023. To improve outcomes, Taiwan is investing in cancer screening and boosting genetic testing for personalized cancer treatments

“People with lung tumors have very high survival rates when the cancer is detected early,” says Dr. Chen. “So early intervention is very important.” In response, the MOHW has expanded access to low-dose CT scans for lung cancer by lowering the screening age for high-risk groups from 45 to 40. In 2022, Taiwan became first in the world to provide lung screening for heavy smokers and individuals with a family history of lung cancer.

Colorectal cancer also has high survival rates when caught in its early stages, Dr. Chen notes. But because the disease is often symptomless in its initial phase, early detection rates remain low.

To improve outcomes, officials are stepping up to promote expanded screening efforts to detect polyps and early-stage tumors before they develop into life-threatening malignancies. The government is promoting stool-based screening tests and colonoscopy programs for high-risk populations, ensuring that more individuals receive timely diagnoses.

Breast cancer cases have doubled over the past two decades. In late 2024, the Health Promotion Administration announced it would expand eligibility for mammogram screenings to include women aged 40 to 74, a broadening from the previous range of 45 to 69.

Still, increasing eligibility is only part of the challenge. AmCham Taiwan’s Public Health Committee noted in the 2024 Taiwan White Paper that only half of eligible women undergo annual screenings. To improve participation, the committee recommended that the MOHW consider adopting 3D mammography – a more advanced, comfortable, and widely accepted alternative to traditional methods.

Dr. Chen acknowledges that screening alone is not enough. Despite improvements in early detection, the mortality rate for breast cancer remains high, he says. As a result, treatment strategies should prioritize access to high-level care. To this end, the initiative focuses on expanding access to advanced therapies and ensuring that new targeted treatments are available at earlier stages of the disease.

In a landmark move, the Lai administration has launched a fund for new cancer drugs, separate from the National Health Insurance Administration’s global budget, with an initial budget of NT$5 billion in 2025. The plan is to raise the fund to NT$10 billion over time. This separate budget allows for faster reimbursement of innovative treatments without affecting the broader and already strained healthcare budget.

“The government will have a cancer expert committee for the fund to review which drugs have benefited – for example, breast cancer treatment – and from which stage in the past,” says Dr. Chen. “We don’t want any cancer patients to die because of cost.”

Dr. Chen remains optimistic about the potential of the new cancer drugs fund. He adds that Taiwan is also increasing investment in genetic testing and precision medicine, allowing for more personalized treatment plans. Gene sequencing technologies are being integrated into cancer screening programs to identify high-risk patients earlier and tailor interventions accordingly.

Advancing kidney care

Taiwan has one of the highest rates of end-stage renal disease in the world, with over 90,000 patients undergoing dialysis. The Healthy Taiwan initiative aims to reduce this burden by focusing on early intervention, lifestyle changes, and home-based peritoneal dialysis (PD) as an alternative to in-center hemodialysis.

“President Lai, being a nephrologist, understands the importance of kidney care,” says Dr. Chen. “We need to emphasize preventive measures, such as better management of diabetes and hypertension, to slow the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD).”

The initiative seeks to integrate routine kidney function tests into health checkups for high-risk populations, particularly those with a history of diabetes, hypertension, or family-related CKD. By catching the disease early, physicians can implement nutritional counseling, medication adjustments, and lifestyle modifications to delay or prevent dialysis dependency.

Another central focus is expanding adoption of home PD. Currently, over 90% of dialysis patients in Taiwan rely on in-center hemodialysis, which places a significant strain on healthcare resources. Home PD offers a cost-effective, patient-friendly alternative that allows individuals to manage their dialysis treatments from home with the support of digital health monitoring.

“We need to educate both patients and nephrologists about the benefits of home PD,” Dr. Chen says. “It provides greater flexibility, but it’s not widely adopted due to a lack of awareness and training among healthcare providers and patients.”

While the government is doing its part to raise awareness, Dr. Chen encourages the private sector to help provide nephrologists, the medical society, and the public with evidence of the benefits of home-based care and to encourage more patients to consider this option. “Public-private cooperation is very important,” he stresses.

The expansion of home PD will help reduce the strain on dialysis centers and improve the quality of life for patients, allowing them to continue working and engaging in daily activities with fewer disruptions.

Mental health: A long-overdue priority

Mental health has historically been underemphasized in Taiwan’s healthcare policies. The Healthy Taiwan initiative seeks to change that. In 2024, the Executive Yuan approved a NT$5.63 billion (US$176.3 million) plan to strengthen whole-of-society mental health resilience between 2025 and 2030. The plan is designed to align Taiwan with the World Health Organization’s concept of mental health as a universal human right.

“Health without mental health is not true health,” says Dr. Chen. “The goal is to reduce the rate of suicide by 5% in five years.”

The “whole-of-society mental health resilience” initiative includes expanded access to psychological counseling, free mental health consultations for young adults, and the introduction of mental health leave policies in universities and corporations.

Schools are integrating social-emotional learning programs into their curricula to equip students with better coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety. Moreover, the government is working to enhance public awareness of mental illnesses, expand subsidies for alcohol addiction treatment, and develop scientifically validated models for the treatment of domestic violence and sexual assault perpetrators.

At-risk populations, such as military personnel and law enforcement officers, are receiving specialized mental health support to address their unique psychological burdens. Meanwhile, expanding telehealth services ensures that people in remote areas have the same access to mental health professionals as those in urban centers.

The private sector’s role

Taiwan’s world-class medical industry is poised to play a crucial role in realizing the Healthy Taiwan vision. “We need industry support to implement new treatments, expand research capabilities, and develop cutting-edge medical technologies,” says Dr. Chen.

Private companies in the healthcare sector play an essential role in advancing digital health solutions, such as AI-driven diagnostics and wearable health monitoring devices. These innovations are not only improving early disease detection but also enabling patients to manage chronic conditions more effectively from home. With the growth of telemedicine, patients now have better access to remote consultations, further bridging the healthcare accessibility gap.

Corporate wellness programs are also an integral part of the equation. Companies are encouraged to invest in employee health, providing incentives for initiatives that promote exercise, nutrition, and stress reduction in the workplace.

Employers are urged to integrate health screenings, fitness programs, and smoking cessation initiatives into their corporate culture. Companies in sectors with high-stress environments, such as finance and technology, are being asked to adopt mental health policies that protect employees from burnout and anxiety-related illnesses.

While the initiative started a mere 10 months ago, it’s well on its way to transforming patients’ lives. Quarterly progress assessments will help ensure the initiative stays on track, with key performance indicators monitoring cancer screening rates, chronic disease management, and the adoption of mental health programs. The first national progress report on Healthy Taiwan is scheduled for release this month, outlining achievements to date and areas needing further attention. The committee has also committed to annual reviews to refine its strategies and set new goals.

With a doctor-turned-president leading the charge, the Healthy Taiwan initiative is shaping up to be a national movement with the potential for lasting impact. “If we succeed,” Dr. Chen says, “Taiwan will be healthier, happier, and stronger than ever before.”