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Under
the umbrella of “Healthy Thailand,” the Ministry of Public Health initiated
nine programme/project approaches. These are: Child
Development, School Children in Health
Promoting Schools,
Healthy Families for Healthy Thailand, Healthy Cities,
Physical Activity and Diet for Health, Reproductive Health, Food Safety,
Healthy Public Toilet, and Healthy Elderly. Several health promotion programmes, campaigns and initiatives have been launched
in different parts of the country with either targeted messages or target
groups.
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While
there is adequate infrastructure within the MOPH to
implement health promotion practices and policies through 12 Regional Health
Promotion Centres and 75 Provincial Public Health
Offices, the biggest challenge is to establish effective collaboration and
partnerships with other sectors outside the MOPH.
These include the Ministries of Education, Interior, Social Development and
Security, and Agriculture and Cooperatives; as well as various civil society
organizations.
Although
the MOPH has a limited budget for developing health
promotion, substantial support is being provided by the Thailand Health
Promotion Foundation, established by the 2001 Health Promotion Foundation
Act. Two per cent of the excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol, or about 55
million USD annually, has been allocated as revenue
for the Foundation, which serves as a catalyst for health promotion
activities. The Foundation is supervised by a governing board chaired by a
deputy prime minister.
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