Taiwan aims to boost life expectancy to 82 years

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) underscored the government's commitment to a healthier Taiwan during the 2025 Healthy Aging Forum: Public-Private Partnership for Holistic Health on Tuesday (Feb. 11).

The event, hosted by AmCham Taiwan (台灣美國商會) and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT, 美國在台協會), focused on strategies to enhance the nation's healthcare system and reduce the burden of aging-related health issues.

Cho highlighted the need for substantial budget allocations, noting that Taiwanese citizens have an average lifespan of 80 years, with eight years spent in poor health.

He emphasized that the "Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee" (健康台灣推動委員會) aims to increase the average life expectancy from 79 to 82 years and reduce the unhealthy life expectancy rate from 10% to 8% over the next eight years.

Cho remarked that the Executive Yuan supports the Ministry of Health and Welfare's (MOHW, 衛福部) initiatives, including the "8-Year 888 Program" (888計畫) for chronic disease prevention and the "triple arrows for cancer treatment" (癌症治療三箭), with a goal to cut cancer mortality by one-third by 2030.

This year's central government budget increased by NT$280.6 billion, with NT$33.6 billion earmarked for health insurance financial assistance and NT$6 billion for deepening Healthy Taiwan measures.

Cho thanked President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) for convening a national affairs meeting on Monday (Feb. 10) to discuss the budget prudently and praised AmCham Taiwan for its valuable input on economic, energy, agriculture, and technology development, which guides policy formulation.