OPENING ADDRESS |
Opening address by His Excellency Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand
On behalf of the Royal Thai Government and the people of Thailand, I would like to say that it is a great pleasure and honour to welcome all of you to this Sixth Global Conference on Health Promotion.It is clear that good health is a key to progress. In those societies where people are healthy, such communities are sure to progress in many ways. Building health has thus become a priority on national and global agendas. As a key instrument to foster healthy well-being, health promotion received a major boost during the years from the First International Conference on Health Promotion held at Ottawa in 1986 through the fifth in the series of global conferences; the one that was held in Mexico in 2000. At the Mexico conference, high-level political commitment to health promotion was manifested by the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration of Mexico for Health Promotion: A Platform for Action, signed by more than 80 of the World Health Organization Member States. The Member States committed themselves to strengthening their planning for health promotion activities, positioning this issue higher on the political agenda and recognizing it as priority in local, regional, national and international programmes. This commitment was taken forward into the governing bodies of both WHO and Pan American Health Organization. All our countries have thus committed themselves to reduce the burden of diseases and risk factors, while promoting supportive determinants in order to extend healthy life.
With intentions as strong as yours in promoting health, I am pleased to inform you that Thailand has shifted its health paradigm to emphasize ‘building’ rather than ‘repairing’ health. We declared in 2002 the policy of ‘Building Health for All Thais’. By following the Ottawa Charter and other recommended strategies, Thailand today has achieved a level of success which includes a reduction in malnutrition by promoting a healthy diet, coupled with implementing a food safety programme that we refer to as ‘from the farm to the fork’.
Thailand also has launched a campaign to promote exercise for better health. You may have even seen some news about this on CNN. In November 2002, some of you may have seen 46, 824 active participants joining in an attempt that successfully broke the Guinness World Record for the ‘largest aerobic display’. We are involving more and more people from every district and village all over the country in a variety of exercises. If you have a chance to tour around Bangkok, you will see for yourselves a variety of exercise activities in different places, such as in public parks, parking lots of many department stores, government offices, elevated roads and private workplaces, and even in the space underneath many expressways. Despite our hectic city life, Thais are making healthy physical activities a familiar part of their daily routines.
In addition, various legal measures are strictly enforced to promote healthy behaviours among Thais. Among them are campaigns against drunk driving and controls on tobacco use such as a prohibition on smoking in public places. Thailand is committed to reducing substance abuse and related production and distribution. Financial measures support the legal measures; for instance, ‘sin taxes’ on alcohol and tobacco products are used to limit the use of these substances. The Thai Health Foundation serves as a focal point in providing financial support to governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as public sector and local organizations operating health-promotion activities.
Starting in 2001, the Thai government launched the Universal Health Scheme which provides insurance coverage for every Thai. It is widely known as the ‘30 baht insurance scheme’, under this scheme, 47 million Thai people who are not covered by any other form of health insurance are entitled to receive health promotion, disease prevention and treatment and health rehabilitation with the co-payment of only 30 baht per visit; 30 baht is less than 75 cents US. This means that every Thai enjoys the right and has the means to access health care. This year, the government is emphasizing the prevention of illness with a new slogan: ‘30 baht helps keep diseases away’.
Apart from individual health promotion, the government also has joined hands with every social sector to build up healthy settings in public places, such as day-care centres, schools, hospitals, factories and workplaces. In our attempt to bring sustained health to all Thais, the Royal Thai Government is combating illicit drugs and narcotics and fighting against poverty, all of which are crucial determinants detrimental to health and national security.
This year marks the launch of our ‘Healthy Thailand’ policy. As you have just heard, Health is high on the national agenda. Different social dimensions are taken into account, including the environment, intellectual strength and peace of mind. We are emphasizing six important aspects of good health: food, exercise, environmental health, emotional balance, absence of diseases and refraining from destructive behaviours. The programme covers every age and population group and every setting. This year we expect to involve a total of 876 subdistricts, eventually covering every subdistrict throughout Thailand within 5 years. We firmly believe that we will be able to achieve a Healthy Thailand and progress towards attaining the targets set under the Millennium Development Goals by 2010.
To give you first-hand experience of what Thailand is doing, I am pleased that you will be able to witness our tangible activities and outcomes in a study tour on the 11th of August during the afternoon session.
During the last few decades, our world has endured a number of sudden national disasters, as well as political and economic crises, growing threats from communicable diseases and risk behaviours and threats from commercial profiteers, without considering the tremendous impacts on people's health. However, I still believe that we can benefit from giving respect to nature and fostering compassion among mankind. With clear wisdom and impartiality, we will be able to overcome difficulties and bring peace and well-being to our people. I strongly believe that as long as we join our hands and our hearts, there is nothing that cannot be done for our people.
In line with the theme of this Conference, I am confident that your deliberations will be productive and lead to the adoption of the Bangkok Charter to suit the current and future global situation.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the Honourable Ministers and distinguished participants attending this conference for their strong commitment to the health of their people. I hope the conference will be a successful one. I wish you a comfortable and enjoyable stay in Bangkok.
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