# Ministry of Health and Welfare (Taiwan)

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW; Chinese: 衛生福利部; pinyin: Wèishēng Fúlì Bù; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ōe-seng Hok-lī Pō͘) is the Executive Yuan ministry responsible for the administration of the public health system, social welfare, affordable and universal health care, hospitals, pharmaceutical, immunization programs, disease prevention, supervision and coordination of local health agencies in Taiwan.

## History

The ministry was originally established on 17 March 1971 as the Department of Health (DOH; Chinese: 衛生署; pinyin: Wèishēng Shǔ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ōe-seng Sú). The department was upgraded to Ministry of Health and Welfare on 23 July 2013 with the addition from the agencies in the Ministry of the Interior responsible for social welfare following restructuring of the Executive Yuan.
The original building of the MOHW was located at Datong District, Taipei when it was still named the Department of Health and being renamed Ministry of Health and Welfare. The Executive Yuan approved the construction for the new building of the then Department of Health in 2007 at Nangang District, Taipei. After years of planning and construction, the building was finally completed in May 2014. On 18 June 2014, the opening ceremony of the new MOHW building was attended by President Ma Ying-jeou, legislators, and representatives from various government agencies and related organizations.
In 2023 the Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Health and Welfare set up a reserve system for medical personnel.

## Organizational structure
### Political departments

* Department of Planning
* Department of Social Insurance
* Department of Social Assistance and Social Work
* Department of Protective Service
* Department of Nursing and Health Care
* Department of Medical Affairs
* Department of Mental Health
* Department of Oral Health
* Department of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy

### Administrative departments

* Department of Secretarial Affairs
* Department of Personnel
* Department of Civil Service Ethics
* Department of Accounting
* Department of Statistics
* Department of Information Management
* Legal Affairs Committee
* Hospital and Social Welfare Organizations Administration Commission
* National Health Insurance Administration
* National Health Insurance Dispute Mediation Committee
* Health and Welfare Workers Training Center
* Office of International Cooperation
* National Pension Supervisory Committee

### Agencies

* Social and Family Affairs Administration
* Centers for Disease Control
* Food and Drug Administration
* Health Promotion Administration
* National Health Insurance Administration

## List of ministers

Kuomintang  Democratic Progressive Party  Non-partisan/ unknown
| № | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Days | Party | Premier |
| Minister of the Department of Health |||||||
| 1 | Yen Chun-hui (顏春輝) | 17 March 1971 | 25 June 1974 | 1196 | | Yen Chia-kan Chiang Ching-kuo |
| 2 | Wang Chin-mao (王金茂) | 25 June 1974 | 9 May 1981 | 2510 | | Chiang Ching-kuo Sun Yun-suan |
| 3 | Hsu Tzu-chiu (許子秋) | 9 May 1981 | 14 January 1986 | 1711 | | Sun Yun-suan Yu Kuo-hua |
| 4 | Shih Chun-jen (施純仁) | 14 January 1986 | 2 June 1990 | 1600 | | Yu Kuo-hua Lee Huan |
| 5 | Chang Po-ya (張博雅) | 2 June 1990 | 1 September 1997 | 2648 | Independent | Hau Pei-tsun Lien Chan |
| 6 | Steve Chan (詹啟賢) | 1 September 1997 | 19 May 2000 | 992 | Independent | Vincent Siew |
| 7 | Lee Ming-liang (李明亮) | 20 May 2000 | 31 August 2002 | 833 | Independent | Tang Fei Chang Chun-hsiung I Yu Shyi-kun |
| — | Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲) | 1 September 2002 | 31 December 2002 | 121 | Democratic Progressive Party | Yu Shyi-kun |
| 8 | Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲) | 31 December 2002 | 18 May 2003 | 138 | Democratic Progressive Party | Yu Shyi-kun |
| 9 | Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) | 18 May 2003 | 1 February 2005 | 625 | Independent | Yu Shyi-kun |
| — | Wang Hsiu-hong (王秀紅) | 2 February 2005 | 16 February 2005 | 14 | | Frank Hsieh |
| 10 | Hou Sheng-mao (侯勝茂) | 17 February 2005 | 19 May 2008 | 1187 | | Frank Hsieh Su Tseng-chang I Chang Chun-hsiung II |
| 11 | Lin Fang-yue (林芳郁) | 20 May 2008 | 25 September 2008 | 128 | | Liu Chao-shiuan |
| 12 | Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) | 26 September 2008 | 6 August 2009 | 314 | Kuomintang | Liu Chao-shiuan |
| 13 | Yang Chih-liang (楊志良) | 6 August 2009 | 8 February 2011 | 551 | Kuomintang | Liu Chao-shiuan Wu Den-yih |
| 14 | Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) | 8 February 2011 | 22 July 2013 | 895 | | Wu Den-yih Sean Chen Jiang Yi-huah |
| Minister of Health and Welfare (since 23 July 2013) |||||||
| 1 | Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) | 23 July 2013 | 3 October 2014 | 438 | | Jiang Yi-huah |
| — | Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) | 3 October 2014 | 22 October 2014 | 19 | | Jiang Yi-huah |
| 2 | Chiang Been-huang (蔣丙煌) | 22 October 2014 | 19 May 2016 | 575 | | Jiang Yi-huah Mao Chi-kuo Chang San-cheng |
| 3 | Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) | 20 May 2016 | 7 February 2017 | 263 | | Lin Chuan |
| 4 | Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) | 8 February 2017 | 17 July 2022 | 1985 | Democratic Progressive Party | Lin Chuan William Lai Su Tseng-chang II |
| 5 | Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) | 18 July 2022 | 20 May 2024 | 672 | | Su Tseng-chang II |
| 6 | Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) | 20 May 2024 | Incumbent | 303 | Democratic Progressive Party | Cho Jung-tai |

## Transportation

The MOHW building is accessible within walking distance East from Kunyang Station of Taipei Metro.