Professor Fiona Wood AO, Director of the Burns Service of Western Australia (BSWA) and one of the distinguished women invited to Taiwan by the Australian Office in Taipei as part of its 2026 International Women's Day program, visited the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on March 17, accompanied by Representative Robert Fergusson. The two sides exchanged views on women's empowerment, Indigenous health, burn care, and injury prevention education.
Commissioner Kao Yung-cheng, a member of the NHRC's working group responsible for drafting the Independent Review on Taiwan's Fifth National Report under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), welcomed Representative Fergusson and Professor Wood on behalf of the NHRC. Commissioner Kao expressed appreciation for Australia's annual International Women's Day initiatives, which recognize women's professional contributions and influence across diverse fields. He also expressed hope that Taiwan and Australia would continue to deepen their partnership in advancing human rights.
Drawing on her personal and professional experiences, Professor Wood observed that although the proportion of women working in Australia's medical profession has increased significantly over the past several decades, medical research has historically remained male-centered and has often failed to adequately address the distinct experiences, care needs, and recovery processes of women following trauma. Commissioner Kao noted that during the preparation of the NHRC's independent assessment report under CEDAW, the Commission had likewise identified inadequate access to healthcare resources for women living in rural and remote areas. In particular, shortages of obstetricians, gynecologists, and midwives continue to place greater healthcare burdens and risks on pregnant women and new mothers in underserved communities. Commissioner Tien Chiu-chin further observed that the relatively high incidence of medical disputes involving obstetrics and gynecology has historically discouraged many medical professionals in Taiwan from entering the specialty, underscoring the importance of policy intervention and institutional support.
Professor Wood agreed and cited research from the United States indicating that female obstetricians, gynecologists, and healthcare professionals can significantly improve the quality of care received by pregnant women and new mothers. From a policy perspective, she suggested that obstetrics and gynecology represents a field in which greater female representation and leadership can be particularly beneficial. Providing young women with supportive environments and measures that enable them to balance family responsibilities while pursuing careers in maternal healthcare could generate substantial benefits for society as a whole.
Responding to Professor Wood's interest in Indigenous health disparities, Commissioner Upay Radiw Kanasaw noted that significant gaps remain between Indigenous Peoples and the general population in Taiwan with respect to indicators such as life expectancy and infant mortality rates. He expressed hope that Taiwan and Australia would continue learning from one another's experiences in promoting public health and medical knowledge within Indigenous communities through culturally sensitive approaches.
Commissioners Wang Yu-ling and Yeh Ta-hua sought Professor Wood's views on burn care, public disaster response, and prevention education, drawing respectively on Taiwan's experience following the 2015 Formosa Fun Coast water park dust explosion and statistical data on childhood injury incidents. Professor Wood commended Taiwan's response to the Formosa Fun Coast disaster, describing it as an example of highly developed medical care capacity that is frequently cited within the international medical community as a positive case study. Regarding whether additional specialized burn centers should be established, she suggested that strengthening first-response knowledge among frontline healthcare providers and the general public through legislation and public health education would likely be a more effective approach.
Professor Wood also shared Australia's experience in burn prevention. In addition to public education campaigns aimed at improving awareness of burn prevention, such as informing young parents about common scald injuries involving young children, Australia has adopted legislative measures regulating the materials used in commercially available clothing and requiring temperature-control devices for hot water systems in newly constructed homes. She noted that these approaches may offer valuable lessons for Taiwan.