ThaiHealth steps up community health service
by: Pavinee Thepkhamram | September 4, 2015
ThaiHealth has joined hands with 371 local administrative offices in 59 provinces in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding addressing six health-related issues, announcing plans to establish network of tobacco and alcohol control centres; to promote cigarette-free households in homes where there are children or persons with chronic diseases; to set up elderly care and sustainable agriculture centres; waste management centres; and to incubate youth leaders.
The workshop on the development of community-based health promotion, taking place at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) at Bang Na on August 29, 2015, was presided over by Ms Duangporn Hengboonyaphan, Director of ThaiHealth’s Healthy Community Strengthening Section.
Speaking at the workshop, Ms Duangporn said that ThaiHealth has continuously collaborated with the network of healthy communities. After announcing the policy in driving forward various health issues, the workshop was the groundbreaking event witnessing a signing of Memorandum of Understanding with as many as 371 local administrative offices of 59 provinces of Thailand to address six health issues.
ThaiHealth will address the following health issues: 1) Setting up alcohol-free communities to reduce traffic accidents, 2) Driving forward agricultural activities for community food, 3) Developing the elderly care system, 4) Developing the management of waste and pollution, 5) Developing health of youngsters, and 6) Setting up cigarette-free communities.
According to the plan, ThaiHealth will establish 15 tobacco control centres with clear objectives to reduce consumption of tobacco products in three aspects: 1) Promoting smoke-free family by starting with families with children of 5 year-old or less or families with persons with chronic diseases, where all members of the family must quit smoking completely; 2) Promoting cigarette quitter models by honouring examples of cigarette quitters in each community; and 3) Promoting smoke-free areas in public areas.
“ThaiHealth has been campaigning for people to reduce, avoid, and eventually quit alcohol and cigarettes through its multimedia advertisements. However, some parts of the society have not yet been accessible to such media created by ThaiHealth, the organisation, therefore, tries to expand the working base in communities by putting emphasis on those who are affected directly. ThaiHealth is promoting learning by using community leaders as trainers, persuading the affected in each community to make use of family love and caring as inspiration for others. A total of five cigarette-free communities have been established, while three alcohol control centres have been set up to launch campaigns after community events such as funerals, weddings, boat races, and rocket festivals. As for the development of elderly care system, ThaiHealth has set up a total of 11 complete elderly care centres by upgrading the existing centres from tambon-level to province-level featuring close collaboration with various local organisations such as Provincial Administration Organisation (PAO), Tambon Administration Organisation (TAO), and Tambon Health Promoting Hospitals. The northeastern province of Phetchabun has been assigned to pilot the project,” said Ms Duangporn.
As for the issue of sustainable agriculture for health food security, a total of seven sustainable agriculture centres will be set up to restore the agricultural activities to restore the food production system in each community, to promote learning and trasferring of technologies for safe foodstuff along with the management of waste, all by making use of food waste to make fertilisers and effective microorganism solution, upgrading the six existing youth health promotion centres by incubating youth leaders as examples for each community. Source
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