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【tsta協會-產業資訊】
Robot helpers among showcase of digital innovations improving adult social care
https://digital.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/robot-helpers-among-showcase-of-digital-innovations-improving-adult-social-care
Cobots - Collaborative Robots in Care
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF-XYdVF3MY
#tsta產業資訊
#獨家 世界衛生組織將台灣問題相關聲明稿下架！
世界衛生組織(WHO)在台灣時間今(6)日凌晨以 "How the World Health Organization works with all people, everywhere" 為題發了一篇聲明稿，試圖為排除台灣參與 WHO 辯解。不過這篇聲明卻在不到 24 小時內就被 WHO 網站下架，直至晚間6時30分仍呈現「找不到網頁」（This page cannot be found），《沃草》透過世衛網站暫存紀錄，獨家為大家揭露該篇聲明內容。
聲明中，WHO仍稱與台灣相關的事務為「中國台灣事務」（ Taiwan, China issues），針對全球的種種批評，WHO 仍稱之為誤解（misunderstandings），並聲稱是有些人將「技術性的維護全球公共健康任務」與「決定 WHO 會員資格的權限」混淆，似乎打算以此來回應國際要求讓台灣加入 WHO 的呼聲。
聲明中多處重申 WHO 在 3 月 29 日公布的聲明（https://waa.tw/Qsu21N），認為 WHO 與台灣設有聯絡點、台灣專家曾參與 WHO 會議等，並表示台灣參與世界衛生大會的觀察員資格是在一次次的會員國投票中遭到否決，以及提起讓中華人民共和國取代中華民國聯合國席位的聯合國 2758 決議文，表示世界衛生大會遵循此決議及其中的一中原則。
似乎是為回應全球對 WHO 應對流行病能力的質疑，WHO 在聲明中表示「有些人可能認為 WHO 成員組成影響我們維護世界安全的能力，但更重要的是要了解我們的治理方式和實踐方式。」
暫存檔網址：https://waa.tw/dohkIm
聲明截圖：https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VP-KMgP4wb6Oy8jQkOjoSu-DWGS3Xqkb/view
原新聞稿網址：https://waa.tw/lFKd8M
（以下為世界衛生組織聲明原文）
標題：Update: How the World Health Organization works with all people, everywhere
發表時間：5 April 2020 Statement
內文：
In recent months we have seen misunderstandings in social media and the news media about how WHO manages global public health issues. In particular, there are a lot of questions about Taiwan, China issues. Some people are confusing WHO’s technical global public health mandate, with the mandate of countries to determine WHO’s membership. Countries decide this. The WHO Secretariat focuses on keeping the world safe.
WHO works to promote the health of all people, everywhere. Indeed, one of our overarching goals is Universal Health Coverage. #healthforall. We are an organization with a staff of physicians, scientists, researchers and public health experts who are committed to serving all people regardless of nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, gender.
This includes the people of Taiwan. We serve them through regular interactions with their experts and authorities on vital public health issues. This has been the case over many years, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is understandable that some people might think that the composition of WHO’s membership affects our ability to keep the world safe. But it is important to understand both how we are governed and how we operate in practice.
WHO is part of the United Nations, whose membership is the mandate of countries. In 1971, countries of the world participating in the United Nations General Assembly recognized the People’s Republic of China as “the only legitimate representative of China,” in effect, a one-China policy. That is contained in UNGA Resolution 2758. In 1972, the World Health Assembly decided in WHA Resolution 25.1 to follow that.
Every year, members have a chance to discuss important proposals during the World Health Assembly, where rules and policies governing WHO are decided. For example, at different times, some countries have proposed giving Taiwan’s authorities a special status – that of observing the annual World Health Assembly.
There have been 14 times over the last 22 years (1997-2006; and in 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019) when countries discussed whether a delegation from Taiwan could attend the World Health Assembly as an observer. Each time the countries decided against it by consensus – except in 1997 and 2004 when there were votes: (by 128 votes to 19 in 1997; and by 133 votes to 25 in 2004). In 2007, the issue wasn’t observer status, but membership, and countries decided against considering that by a vote of 148 to 17.
There have been occasions when it was clear that there was general support among WHO countries for Taiwan to take an observer seat at the World Health Assembly. Between 2009 and 2016, it did so under the name “Chinese Taipei.”
But having a seat at the WHA, or not having a seat at the WHA, does not affect, in any way, whether an area or population benefits from WHO expertise and guidance. WHO helps all people, everywhere.
WHO and Taiwan’s health experts interact throughout the year on vital public health and scientific issues, according to well-established arrangements.
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, interactions have been stepped up, both through existing channels and new ones as well.
Here are examples of WHO-Taiwan interactions around the coronavirus pandemic:
-- There is an established International Health Regulations (IHR) Point of Contact (POC) for Taiwan. Taiwan’s POC receives IHR (2005) communications, provides IHR information updates from Taiwan directly to WHO Headquarters, and has access to the IHR Event Information Site (EIS) system. The EIS system is a password-protected database and information exchange platform supporting the IHR. It is the well-established platform for all IHR communications, back and forth, between WHO and IHR contacts.
-- Health experts from Taiwan participate in two of the key WHO networks set up in January 2020 to support WHO work in the global COVID-19 response. Three experts from Taiwan are part of the WHO Infection Prevention and Control Network: two are part of the WHO Clinical Network. Every week, they join some 60 to 80 other experts from around the globe through a WHO-hosted teleconference, working to advance our knowledge and guidance in this response.
-- Two public health experts from Taiwan participated in the Global Research and Innovation Forum organized by WHO on 11-12 February 2020. They took part, alongside other world scientists, in considering critical research questions and in finding ways to work together to advance the response.
-- Taiwan’s Field Epidemiology Training Program is a member of the Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (also known as “TEPHINET”). WHO shares Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network alerts and requests for assistance with TEPHINET, and those messages are cascaded to the TEPHINET members.
-- WHO, through its technical lead, has directly briefed health authorities from Taiwan and has offered again.
--Taiwan’s health experts and authorities have open access to developments, guidance and other materials through the WHO’s website (www.who.int) and other digital platforms.
--They can access the www.OpenWHO.org platform, which hosts open online courses for decisionmakers and responders around the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, OpenWHO usage has reached more than 1 million.
--WHO has a designated contact point with their office in Geneva. Through this channel, general questions are handled and when technical concerns arise, WHO technical responses are coordinated.
--WHO also interacts with Taiwan’s health authorities through the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Importantly, the COVID-19 caseload in Taiwan is low relative to population. We continue to follow developments closely, and WHO is taking lessons learned from all areas.
Interactions with Taiwan during the response to the pandemic is not exceptional. Here are some examples of regular interactions with Taiwan’s health authorities and WHO, over many years, through well-established arrangements, and across many different global health concerns:
Over the course of 2019, Taiwan’s experts were invited to attend 9 WHO technical meetings. They attended 8 of these meetings, contributing to WHO expert processes on issues including immunization, drug-resistant TB, assistive technologies, vaccine safety and SDG targets on NCDs and Mental Health. Prior to the Covid-19 emergency, work was underway for more expert participation from Taiwan in 2020.
On influenza, Taiwan vaccine manufacturer Adimmune contributes to the WHO Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework (PIP Framework) and preparations are underway for concluding an agreement between WHO and Adimmune under the PIP Framework for pandemic influenza vaccine products;
In the fight against cancer, experts from Taiwan have contributed to key publications issued by the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer;
In support of the International Health Regulations, an expert from Taiwan has been appointed to the IHR Expert Roster; and
On a range of other issues, from WHO pre-qualification practices for pharmaceutical manufacturers to malaria, there are exchanges with WHO on practical and technical issues.
It is fair to say that the contribution of Taiwan’s health experts to WHO, and their interactions with us, are well-developed and broad-based. And these interactions add value to the work of WHO and to global health.
DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam presented Budget 2013 this afternoon. His theme was “A better Singapore: Quality growth, An Inclusive Society”.
Our immediate priority is to solve the housing and transport issues. At the same time, we must upgrade our economy through productivity and innovation. Budget 2013 will help our businesses cope with much lower foreign worker growth over the next few years. It also contains schemes to enable every Singaporean to benefit from growth. For example, the Wage Credit Scheme will incentivise employers to raise salaries of their lower-income workers, as the Govt will pay 40% of these salary increases for three years. We will also focus on promoting social mobility, especially through education, so that children from less privileged backgrounds are not disadvantaged in our society.
The Parliament will discuss Budget 2013 in the upcoming weeks. You can visit www.singaporebudget.gov.sg for more details about the Budget. - LHL
We had the Budget today. We are transforming our economy so that we can have quality growth – growth that all Singaporeans will benefit from, and which will allow a better quality of life. And we are taking further steps towards a more inclusive society – starting with the kids, helping lower-income workers, and providing greater economic security for our retirees, including those in the middle-income group.
Here's an extract from the Budget Speech that sets out the main directions our policies are taking. The specifics are in the full speech linked below.
http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget…/budget_speech.html
BETTER SINGAPORE: QUALITY GROWTH, AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
Many Singaporeans, through Our Singapore Conversation platforms, have been sharing their hopes for Singapore – the kind of home we want to build for our families and our children. There has been a rich diversity of views. But a common set of aspirations is emerging, a common vision of the future that Singaporeans want:
• A home with a strong Singaporean identity and sense of belonging
• A Singapore with a robust and vibrant economy, and with good jobs that enable a more fulfilling pace of life
• A home with strong families, and where our seniors can age with dignity
• A society that takes care of the disadvantaged
• A Singapore with affordable living
• A society with greater sense of togetherness, and where the Government and the people have a more collaborative relationship
This is the Singapore that we want to build together.
The Government is making major moves to support this endeavour. Since 2010, we have embarked on major steps to transform our economy so as to create better jobs and allow for a better pace and quality of life. We are also making important shifts in social policies, as announced in last year’s Budget, to foster a fair and more inclusive society.
We will need to make further moves. So that by the end of the decade, we will have a better Singapore, a better future for all Singaporeans.
Immediate Challenges: Housing and Transport
First, we have pressing challenges in housing and transport. The Government will spare no effort in resolving these problems.
We want to reduce the cost of housing relative to the income of young Singaporeans. Prices in the HDB resale market and private market have risen too rapidly in the cycle that began as we recovered from the 2009 economic crisis. We have taken major steps to cool the housing market. We have also ramped up the supply of HDB flats which will help first-time buyers book their flats faster as well as ease prices in the resale market. And we have increased supply of private housing through Government Land Sales. The Minister for National Development will speak more in COS about these immediate challenges as well as how we can ensure affordable, quality housing for Singaporeans over the longer term.
We have to make many improvements in public transport. Congestion and waiting times are a daily problem for Singaporeans. We are ramping up bus capacity, especially feeder services, to improve frequency and add new routes. We are accelerating the rollout of the additional 800 buses that we made provisions for last year. In addition, the Land Transport Authority will be tendering out routes to private operators.
Our rail network will expand by more than 50% by 2021. That is still eight years away. But in the meantime, we will see improvements that will help relieve congestion. Parts of the Downtown Line will start operating from the end of this year, and new trains will be added to existing lines from next year. We will also introduce other measures to reduce crowding, including significantly enhanced incentives for commuters who travel during the “shoulder” periods before and after the morning peak hour. The Minister for Transport will talk about these measures in the COS.
An Economy and Society in Transition
While we fix these immediate problems in housing and transport, we have to press on with our priorities to help Singaporeans have a better quality of life over the medium to long term.
We have to shift gears for an economy and society that is in transition.
We are no longer a developing economy, but we have not achieved the level of productivity and income of an advanced economy. At the same time, our own workforce is growing more slowly, and is gradually getting older.
We must make every effort to achieve quality growth: growth that is achieved mainly through innovation and higher productivity, and growth that will benefit all Singaporeans – our children, working families, our elderly and disabled.
Our strategies for achieving quality growth and an inclusive society are in fact tied inextricably together. Raising productivity is not just our most important economic priority, but enables us to build a better society. Higher productivity is the only sustainable way to raise incomes for ordinary Singaporeans, and provide jobs that give people a sense of responsibility and empowerment. Higher productivity is also necessary for us to shorten working hours over time and allow Singaporeans to enjoy a better work-life balance.
Our society is also facing the pressures of widening income disparities. This is happening in cities globally and in Asia, but it matters more to us because Singapore is not just a city but also a nation. We must take further steps to temper inequality. We also want to do more to enable our seniors to have a sense of economic security and fulfilment in their retirement years.
On both economy and society, therefore, we need to shift our thinking.
In government: where we are reshaping policies and driving new initiatives, especially to sustain social mobility and strengthen support for older Singaporeans.
In the business community: which has to innovate and adjust to the permanent reality of a tight labour market.
In our society at large: where we have to accord ordinary workers not just better pay but greater respect.
In the community: with non-profits and other voluntary groups pursuing the causes we all believe in, and working with an active partner in the government.
And for all of us individuals, to do our best to improve and to contribute to our country in our own ways.
Transforming Our Economy for Better Jobs
We are restructuring our economy. We began this in earnest in 2010, by:
• Tightening foreign worker inflows;
• Supporting enterprises in their efforts to upgrade operations and improve productivity; and
• Investing in our workers by heavily subsidising their training, in every skill.
We need to intensify this economic restructuring and skills upgrading so as to achieve quality growth. Although wages are going up in a tight labour market, productivity has lagged. If we do not do better in raising productivity, we will be caught in a situation where businesses lose competitiveness, and wages eventually stagnate. Both workers and businesses will be worse off.
We must help our SME sector revitalise itself. There are however wide divergences in efficiency amongst SMEs even in the same industries. Restructuring will unfortunately lead to some businesses being winnowed out, but the end result must be a vibrant and sustainable local SME sector. Every support must be provided to help the businesses which bring in more efficient techniques and service models, so they can grow in a tight labour market, and where possible make their mark internationally.
There are already many examples of SMEs transforming themselves, in every sector. For example in furniture manufacturing, local firms are training multi-skilled employees, relocating manpower-intensive activities, developing unique brands and carving a niche for themselves in overseas markets.
To make this economic transition, we must also harness the value of older Singaporeans and design jobs suited for them, as well as for other potential employees who are unable to work regular, full-time schedules. Flexible work practices must become more common, enabling employees to structure their work so that they have time for their families or for personal development like part-time courses. We should also make it possible for more employees to have the option of telecommuting from home or working from “smart work centres” near their homes, like what they have in Amsterdam and Seoul. The Government will work closely with businesses in these efforts.
Building a Fair and Inclusive Society
We are also taking major steps to ensure a fair and more inclusive society.
• First, to sustain social mobility. Meritocracy alone will not assure us of this. We therefore want to do more, starting from early in our children’s lives, to give the best leg up to those who start with a disadvantage. We cannot change the fact that children have different family backgrounds that bring very different advantages and disadvantages. But we want to find every way, at the pre-school and primary school levels, to help our children from poorer or less stable families to develop confidence and the self-belief that gives them aspirations of their own, and to help them catch up when they fall behind. And we will provide pathways to develop every skill and ability, so that every child can discover his strengths as he grows up, and can do well.
• Second, we must do more to mitigate inequality. We are making our fiscal system more progressive, by tilting our taxes and benefits in favour of the lower- and middle-income groups.
Currently:
i. A lower-income older worker receives a significant top-up of his income through Workfare each year.
ii. A middle-income family with a child in child care gets subsidies of $4,800 per year. If the child is in university, he can receive more than $8,500 in bursaries over the course of his studies, and get a subsidised government loan to pay off the remaining fees and cover study expenses. Children from lower-income families receive far more.
iii. Singaporeans with disabilities now receive substantially greater support. Both when young through early intervention under EIPIC, and as adults, where we provide a substantial incentive through the Special Employment Credit (SEC) for firms to employ them so that they can contribute and lead more independent lives.
iv. An older Singaporean in need of long term care can receive subsidies of $870 per month for home-based care or $1,200 per month if he is in a nursing home, following the changes we introduced last year. Those who need more help will get it through Medifund.
We will take further, significant steps in this Budget towards strengthening social mobility and increasing the progressivity and fairness of our system. In particular, with enhancements to Workfare, a low-wage worker who is 60 years old would receive a top-up of his pay of about 30%. This is in addition to what his employer can receive through the SEC, and the new Wage Credit Scheme, to be introduced in this year’s Budget, which will encourage his employer to up his pay.
While raising incomes is the best way to help lower- and middle- income Singaporeans cope with rising costs, this Budget will also include measures to help them more immediately. The most significant support will go to older Singaporeans, to help them with medical costs.
Taking all our measures together, including those which will be announced in this Budget, we are providing substantial benefits to lower- and middle-income Singaporeans. The full picture can be seen if we look at benefits over a lifetime, starting from a couple’s needs when they first have children, to the time they get old and need other types of help, especially with healthcare costs.
In total, over a lifetime, a young low-income couple with two children can expect to receive more than $600,000 in benefits in real terms (2013 dollars). (This comes from subsidies and other means-tested benefits for their children’s education, housing, healthcare, Workfare, the GST Voucher, and other schemes.)
This is much more than we used to provide in the past. In the last decade alone, we have more than doubled the lifetime benefits in real terms for such families.
When we take into account all the taxes that such low-income families will pay (mainly GST), they will get back far more in benefits. In fact, they will get more than five dollars in benefits for every dollar in taxes paid.
However, today’s generation of older Singaporeans will not benefit as much as younger Singaporeans from the enhancements in Workfare and CPF and other schemes. We want to do more for this senior generation of Singaporeans, who worked over the years, often with low pay, to build a better future for their children. They made today’s Singapore possible. We will do more for them. The Government is reviewing the system of healthcare financing and some other schemes to help them in their retirement years.
Finally, the Budget will make significant investments to nurture the sports and arts, which play a growing role in enriching life in Singapore. Over the next five years, we will invest 30% more in sports programmes, and more than double our investments to develop regional- and community-level sports facilities. The Government will also create a new Cultural Donation Matching Fund, to provide dollar-for-dollar matching for donations to the arts and culture.
In short, we are building a better Singapore: a more inclusive and caring society, with an innovative and dynamic economy, so that Singaporeans can have better opportunities and more fulfilling lives.
http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget…/budget_speech.html
