Areas of Work

Infectious Disease Prevention and Control

The International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR 2005) came into effect in June 2007 as an integrated global alert and response system.  The IHR 2005 aims at enhancing country cooperation and assistance to rapidly identify, assess, and mitigate public health threats and emergencies without adversely affecting commercial trade and travel.

Thailand is an active IHR member with a focal point at the Bureau of Epidemiology under the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health.  With collaboration of WHO, IHR core capacity development has been on high priority with focus on communicable disease surveillance, laboratory capacity and point of entry. 

Links:

·         IHR in the WHO Regional Offices

·         Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Disease 2010

·         WHO Thailand Cooperation Strategy (2012-2016)

WHO’s South-East Asia Regional Office Stockpile of Emergency Relief Commodities

As one of the leading UN agencies providing critical support to disease outbreak and adverse health situations, WHO South East Asia Region is currently covered by two Regional Stockpiles overseen by the Department of Communicable Diseases.  Essential medical supplies and protective equipment are readily available for immediate distribution in response to disease outbreaks and pubic health emergencies. 

Activated upon emergency request, the Bangkok regional stockpile has the capacity to reach any Member States in the Southeast Asia Region in a very short time frame.  During the height of the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, over 115,000 courses of Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) were urgently deployed to countries throughout the region.

Operating procedures have been established and training modules are being developed to further increase efficiency and efficacy to emergency response operations and coordination efforts between WHO and national governments.

Links:

·         Disease Surveillance and Epidemiology

·         Emergency Humanitarian Action

·         Alert and Response Operations

·         WHO Thailand Repository

International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) and Food Safety

Globalization has increased potential threats of international incidents involving contaminated food. Experts recognize that food safety is not a local issue, but requires strong collaboration on an international level to prevent such incidents. 

The International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) is a joint initiative between WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The Food Safety Operation Centre is Thailand’s national focal point responsible to liaise and report any urgent event with INFOSAN secretariat.

In 2009, WHO conducted the National Food Safety Programme Assessment aimed at strengthening INFOSAN network with national and private stakeholders.  The assessment brought forth a need for future collaboration to support the development of national mechanisms of food safety management.

Links:

·         INFOSAN Background Information (including mandate and functions)

·         Brochure on INFOSAN

·         WHO Thailand Repository

Immunization Coverage

Despite high national immunization coverage, there are still pockets of lower immunization coverage in Thailand.  Thai children in Southern provinces, children of migrant workers, and people residing in remote provinces represent the three most vulnerable groups where immunization coverage is at its lowest.

In response to the low vaccine coverage among these vulnerable children, WHO in collaboration with the National EPI (Expanded Programme on Immunization) conducted a joint assessment of immunization services in refugee camps on the Thai-Myanmar border in 2011 which includes recommendation on how to ensure high coverage.

A model development project on strengthening immunization services was also implemented in the southern-most provinces in order to address the lower vaccination levels there. This model is now being recommended to further scale up immunization coverage in vulnerable population groups.

WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) has launched its policy to increase awareness among its Member States by setting forth 2012: Year of Intensification of Routine Immunization in the South-East Asia Region (SEAR) : Framework for increasing  and sustaining coverage.   With this initiative, WHO will continue working with National immunization programmes to increase vaccine coverage among vulnerable children.

Links

·         Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals

·         Immunization and Vaccine Development

·         WHO Thailand Repository: IVD