On 9 December 2025, H.E. Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Minister of Foreign Affairs, presided over the opening ceremony of an event to celebrate International Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day 2025, along with Dr. Sopon Iamsirithaworn, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health. The Minister reiterated the inseparable nature of foreign policy and global health, as well as the importance of sustaining UHC for health of the Thai people and social and economic prosperity of the country.

This year’s International UHC Day was organized under the theme “Sustaining Universal Health Coverage: Global Governance and Local Effort” and engaged multiple stakeholders within and from other countries, as well as international organization to discuss the current situation in global health, its impacts on national health systems, and ways to promote sustainability for Thailand’s UHC. Panelists exchanged information and insights on perspectives on health spending not as a cost but an investment in the people’s well-being and national economic development, the importance of regional health cooperation, strengthening health workforces, including the Village Health Volunteers (VHV) system, the inclusion of people and communities in making health policy, and using digital and AI technology in health systems. The event also featured an exhibition that showcased information about the structure of Thailand’s UHC and practical applications of UHC sustainability.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with the National Health Security Office (NHSO), the Ministry of Public Health, and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), jointly organize the International Universal Health Coverage Day every year. Thailand played an important role in its establishment by helping to push forward the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution in 2017.