I recently came back from a one-month fellowship in Taiwan which was focused on development work -- including expert sessions from leading NGOs, think tanks and changemakers, delving into Taiwan’s learnings, while progressing as a nation. The knowledge shared was incredible and the growth curve of Taiwan, particularly fascinating for me as a development practitioner based in the global south.
It is safe to say that as Bangladeshis, we are not well-versed on Taiwan, its nation building process or history, and I feel the situation is similar in their case as well. So, everything that I came across was new, and revealing of information that made me compare the developmental priorities and successes in Bangladesh.
To start with, Taiwan local NGOs are not dependent on global donors -- which came as a shock to me. While a few have funding from international donor agencies, almost 80% of Taiwan’s development organizations are funded by the Taiwan government itself or operate with the government as partners. Now this is in complete contrast with the situation of Bangladesh and so I began to dig deeper. Taiwan surpasses many first world countries and is a prime example of working towards social welfare, as the government and development partners work hand in hand for the betterment of the lives of its citizens. To put it simply, the government funds development organizations to implement projects that are aligned to national priorities.
Their policies on pension, social welfare allowances, and overall social safety net programs are part of four major national strategies through which they have established a widely distributed network of social welfare service centres and have integrated social services with government welfare programs. For instance, they have integrated sexual and domestic violence response services (supported by the government) with assistance for high-risk households (implemented by development partners); combined suicide-prevention services (also supported by the government) with psychiatric care for offender (implemented by development partners), and integrated the service resources of multiple ministries and agencies; overall a wholesome and well-rounded approach to not just achieving the development goals, but purely addressing the needs of the masses, and the most marginalized population at that.
While the system may not be perfect, and I am sure Taiwanese citizens can very well spot the gaps, to an outsider such as myself, the systems and structures in the very least are developed keeping the needs of the people in mind with no one left behind. The next phase of this program is going to look into establishing community mental health centres and cooperative-model service stations for people with mental disorders, strengthening psychiatric health community systems and community support services, establishing forensic psychiatric wards and hospitals, and strengthen forensic psychiatric medical services, strengthening collaborative services across systems, establishing more social services and integrated child protection and medical centres, and continue to optimize medical resources and services, creating more senior staff positions, strengthening career development, promoting manpower advancement, and encouraging long-term commitments to professional positions.
When I think about the zillion NGOs that are operating in Bangladesh, the focus of their work looks skewed with goals that continue to be unachievable. Being one of the actors in this very tedious system, I can vouch for it myself, unfortunately.
From the naive lens of a tourist, the one thing that cannot go amiss is the transport system -- buses, trains, and metro services that make commuting super easy. Finally, Taiwan is also the first country to legalize same sex marriage and again, while there are very many gaps surrounding policies pertaining to sexually diverse groups, it is a welcome start that can be used to further build on gender sensitive policies and laws.
Now this was not Taiwan’s situation even in the last decade. While policy makers and the state have made favourable decisions for the people in general, what makes these changes worthwhile are the people of Taiwan. What makes a nation a nation and not just some geographical location marked into a territory by those in power, is its people. People who have seen the worst, and fought and risen above it. More than anything, the people of Taiwan seem to be how and where they are today because they wanted to build and own their identity, an identity that holds the label of Taiwan, and Taiwan alone.
Perhaps there are more similarities with Bangladesh than I had previously stipulated. Perhaps change for us is waiting to happen too; waiting for our people to take matters into their own hands and act; asking for what is truly theirs; for social welfare and just systems, basic rights to health, happiness and growth.
Syeda Samara Mortada is a feminist activist, and Co-Founder of Bonhishkha, a feminist organization working to un-learn gender, and in creating a platform for youth to share their gender-based experiences.
