Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand reiterated Thailand’s strong commitment to providing and further developing its Universal Health Coverage, which has proven to be a key factor contributing to Thailand’s success in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic and in ensuring the right to the highest attainable standard of health for all citizens, at the event commemorating the International Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day.

H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, reiterated Thailand’s strong commitment to providing and further developing its Universal Health Coverage for all citizens at the event commemorating 12 December as the International Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day. The event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the National Health Security Office (NHSO) of the Ministry of Public Health, on 8 December 2020, under the theme “HEALTH FOR ALL: Protect Everyone.” H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai and Dr. Sathit Pitutecha, Deputy Minister of Public Health, opened the event, attended by over 100 participants from the Diplomatic Corps, relevant international organisations and representatives of the civil society.

UHC has proven to be a key factor contributing to Thailand’s success in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic, and in ensuring the right to the highest attainable standard of health for all citizens in a concrete manner. While challenges persist and require cooperation of all stakeholders to address, Thailand stands ready to exchange its experience with UHC with all countries and stakeholders in order to continue to strengthen Thailand’s UHC scheme and to develop it into an even more effective system.

The panel discussion on “Looking forward with Universal Health Coverage in responding to health emergencies: COVID-19 Case Study” was another highlight of the event. Panelists included a representative from the WHO Thailand Office; the Director-General of the Department of International Organisation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Regional Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Southeast Asia Regional Office; the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health; the President of the Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion; and the Secretary-General of the NHSO. The panelists exchanged ideas and shared experiences in implementing UHC at the local, national and international levels. The discussion touched upon UHC schemes in other countries and ideas on how to further advance UHC in Thailand.