Minister Teng-shi Yang from TECO attended the "2023 Medical Mission with Love: Gratitude Tea Party for Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery in Davao, Philippines" on 23 November, expressing gratefulness for the fruitful results of the long-term collaboration between the Noordhoof Craniofacial Foundation and Taiwan's Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in deepening Taiwan-Philippines healthcare cooperation.
Yang, in his speech at the gratitude tea party, mentioned that besides conducting cleft palate and lip surgeries with seed doctor Dr. Dax Pascasio in Davao City, the Medical Mission Team also assisted Dr. Dax in establishing the first craniofacial center in southern Philippines. This initiative ensures that local impoverished patients can receive comprehensive craniofacial team treatment without traveling to Manila, allowing Taiwan's compassion to take root and sustainably develop in the Philippines, vividly embodying the spirit of "Taiwan can help and Taiwan is helping."
The NCF initiated the "Cleft Lip and Palate International Aid Program" in 1998. Including the recent mission in the Philippines, they have conducted 90 missions in nine countries, assisting 2,273 underprivileged craniofacial patients. They have also trained 183 craniofacial medical professionals from 21 countries, with seed doctors establishing teams or treatment centers in the Philippines, Mongolia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Xi'an, China.
This year's medical mission has further deepened Taiwan-Philippines healthcare cooperation. The organizers are looking forward to more milestones to be achieved in the future between Taiwan and the Philippines on the basis of the endless generosity from the NCF.