In the early 1970s, Dr. Vichai Chokevivat was a young doctor angry about the state of society in Thailand. 'I was from a rural area with no electricity and potable water,' he recalled in a recent zoom interview.
Sep 28, 2024 08:26 AMIn the early 1970s, Dr. Vichai Chokevivat was a young doctor angry about the state of society in Thailand."I was from a rural area with no electricity and potable water," he recalled in a recent zoom interview.
Chokevivat and thousands belonging to the Rural Doctors Movement eventually became the driving force in the 2002 passage of the Universal Health Care Law in Thailand, a first in Southeast Asia, which inspired Indonesia and the Philippines to move towards UHC. The RDM was recently named one of the five Ramon Magsaysay awardees for 2024, for their work of providing free health services to all Thais and securing funds to build provincial, city and community hospitals.
Members of the Rural Doctors Movement meet with officials of the Thai Ministry of Public Health to amend policies on youth drug purchase. The RDS and the RDF are the two main components of the RDM, which works in compliance with the Thai Constitution that recognizes healthcare as a constitutional right. With UHC, Thailand became a social justice pioneer and a stunning example of grassroots democracy by rural doctors who became savvy political advocates.
Chokevivat recalled that rural doctors moved to include a clause in the Thai Constitution in the 1970s, mandating the government to stop dangerous contagious diseases at no cost to the public, which proved prescient in beating Covid-19. Thailand was among those that succeeded in promptly controlling Covid-19 because"we had 40 years to prepare for pandemics," Chokevivat said.
Second, the RDM's partnership with the Thai Ministry of Public Health and support from top officials enable them to complete programs.
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