2008年5月27日 星期二

The 2003 International Conference of Austronesian Health


The Taipei Declaration
The Austronesian people and their unique culture persists from Taiwan, through the Malaysian archipelago, to the Pacific island countries of Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia and New Zealand. In order to share a vision for the healthy development of Austronesian people, and to enrich the progress of related knowledge and understanding, the delegates of the 2003 International Conference for Austronesian Health convened in Taipei in their individual capacity hereby declare that:
· We acknowledge that health is a basic human right, and recognize that for Austronesians this involves a shared and rich cultural heritage and similar challenges in health that extend beyond country borders;
· We respect, however, the cultural diversity that exists among the Austronesian people, and acknowledge the need for autonomy, self-determination and appropriate development;
· In response to the above, we dedicate ourselves to the sustainable development of innovative approaches to capacity strengthening, research and service aimed at improving the health of Austronesian peoples;
· To accomplish this, we acknowledge the crucial role of international collaboration in this endeavour, and therefore advocate the establishment of an "International Forum for Austronesian Health"; and
· We commit ourselves to continued cooperation and exchange in related academic and research efforts, and strongly encourage a spirit of mutual understanding, shared consciousness and partnership to improve the health of Austronesians.

The Memorandum

We agree in our individual capacity to collaborate and to share information to foster capacity strengthening, service and research with the aim of improving health among Austronesians, and with an emphasis on key issues affecting Austronesian people including but not limited to the following:1) the indigenous holistic perspective of health, including traditional culture and values;2) community health, empowerment, and self-determination;3) the cluster of related non-communicable diseases (e.g. diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, hypertension);4) the cluster of related behavioural risk factors (e.g. obesity, insufficient physical activity, poor diet, and substance use, especially Alcohol, Betel nut, Cigarettes);5) the cluster of related biochemical and genetic risk factors (e.g. hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hyperuricemia);6) the cluster of environmentally-related risk factors; and7) other key social determinants of health and social health issues.
In all of the above we agree to respect all relevant bioethical issues with a commitment to the rights and values of indigenous people, including negotiated determination of how these activities are conducted, and ownership of resulting information.