BANGKOK – Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and Dr. Paijit Warachit, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health, met today to discuss Thailand’s progress and challenges in promoting better reproductive and sexual health, especially among adolescents and youth.
Dr. Osotimehin, an Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and former health minister in Nigeria, made a brief visit to Thailand as part of a multi-country Asian tour.
During the meeting at the Ministry of Public Health, he commended Thailand for its likely achievement of Millennium Development Goal health targets for 2015, including the reduction of maternal mortality by three fourths from 1990 levels. He noted Thailand historically has been a regional leader in promoting safe childbirth and voluntary family planning for married adults.
At the same time, Dr. Osotimehin said UNFPA is concerned by evidence of rising teenage pregnancy, low contraceptive use and unsafe abortion among Thai adolescents. He suggested the Ministry might consider supporting legislation to promote the rights of young people to get quality and appropriate sexuality education, counselling, and reproductive health services designed to reach unmarried young people without discrimination.
Surveys indicate premarital sex is increasingly common, and that many sexually active young Thais are not protecting themselves and their partners from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. UNFPA recommends the country work to strengthen sexuality education programmes by training teachers to address sensitive issues in a non-judgemental manner.
In the meeting, Dr. Osotimehin also spoke of Thailand’s need to develop a long-term health investment plan to address changing quality of life concerns at a time of declining births and rapid ageing of the population.
The UNFPA Executive Director praised Thailand for taking a leading role on health issues within the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), and for hosting the upcoming ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting, scheduled for 2-6 July 2012 in Phuket.
Dr. Osotimehin emphasized the need for all migrant workers and their families to have access to the best possible information and health care. He also noted the planned economic integration of ASEAN countries in 2015 is likely to attract large numbers of migrant workers to Thailand, including young people from countries with low reproductive health awareness. He urged the Thai Government to support the provision of sexual and reproductive health information and services to all people, irrespective of migratory status.
For more information please contact:
William A. Ryan, mobile +66-89-897-6984, ryanw@unfpa.org
Thitiporn Winijmongkolsin, tel. +66-2-687-0123, winijmongkolsin@unfpa.org
