Thailand committed to health-related Sustainable Development Goals: PM
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday told the International Strategic Dialogue on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that Thailand has taken concrete action to achieve SDG 3.4 on “reducing by one third premature mortality from NCDs” and SDG 3.8 on “achieving universal health coverage” by 2030.
The event was co-hosted by the World Health Organisation, together with Ghana and Norway. The dialogue was held physically in Accra, Ghana, as well as virtually on Tuesday. Prayut gave his speech at 7.27pm (Thailand time), or 12.27 hours local time, said government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana on Tuesday.
“PM Prayut told the meeting that in 2021 Thailand successfully expanded its universal healthcare coverage [UHC] to cover 99.6 per cent of the population, which is the highest among Southeast Asian nations,” said Thanakorn.
In his speech, Prayut said: “The government has realised that tackling NCDs still remains one of Thailand’s key challenges, and therefore declared prevention and control of NCDs as its national agenda. All relevant stakeholders are encouraged to take part in developing national strategies and action plans on NCDs. Its progress reports must be submitted to the Cabinet for monitoring and review. This also helps mobilise resources to invest in health promotion as a part NCD prevention.”
Prayut also said the Covid-19 pandemic had posed limitations in and challenges to the delivery and provision of NCD-related services.
“I believe we need to integrate prevention and treatment of NCDs into the public health emergency plan at national, regional and global levels for better preparedness and response to future public health crises,” he advised.
“Furthermore, a comprehensive and inclusive UHC system contributes significantly to better management and greater access to health services including NCDs. Thailand stands ready to share our experiences and enhance collaboration with other countries in this area,” said Prayut.
“Thailand wishes to reaffirm our commitment to the Political Declaration of the 3rd High-Level Meeting of the UNGA on the Prevention and Control of NCDs as we continue to move towards the achievement of SDG 3.4 and other health-related goals for good health and well-being of our people,” he added.