About Us

The Medical Association for indigenous People of Taiwan (MAIPT) was initiated by Dr. Dong Sen (an indigenous Paiwanese doctor from Mudan Township of Pingtong) more than 20 years ago. But it was finally established and formally registered in 2003, at the Taipei Medicine University. In 2003, there were about 80 members. Twenty principle supervisors were elected at the first meeting. Professor Yin-ching Ko (a Han Chinese medical doctor, currently the vice president of the Kaohsiung Medical University) held the chairmanship during 2003-2004. In 2005, Dr. Ching Feng Lin (an indigenous Amis medical doctor, currently the vice chairman of Bali Psychiartric Center) was elected as the chairman. Dr. Lin passed his chairmanship to Professor Weng-Ching Chung (a Hakkanese, currently the honorary professor of the Taipei Medical University) in 2006. In 2007, Dr. Kao Cheng-Chih (an indigenous Paiwanese medical doctor, currently the director of Chin-Fong Township clinics) was elected as the Chairman. Currently, there were about 100 members in MAIPT.

The main goals of the Medical Association for indigenous People of Taiwan are 1) to support academic researches on indigenous peoples of Taiwan, 2) to promote the exchange between the MAIPT members and other international organizations focused on the health issues of indigenous peoples and 3) to organize meetings in related to the health of indigenous peoples.

Other than the regular annual member meetings, MAIPT had organized the following meetings:

In 2003, “the Austronesian indigenous peoples healthy forum”

In 2005, “the chairman meeting of the health organization of the Austronesian indigenous peoples”

In 2006,” the Pan-Asian international meeting for public health and epidemiology”

In 2007, MAIPT had finally obtained support and started the health promotion program in the indigenous tribes.

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.