The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked Thailand to present its experiences in successfully dealing with COVID-19. The kingdom is now among a handful of nations chosen to pilot a health preparedness review that will draw on lessons learned during the pandemic.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and WHO Representative to Thailand Jos Vandelaer held a press conference on the results of the Universal Health and Preparedness Review (UHPR), held from April 21-29 of this year.
Anutin said the WHO selected Thailand to be the third host of the UHPR pilot program, which seeks to review emergency health and universal healthcare preparedness lessons learned from handling the COVID pandemic. The WHO is extracting lessons from factors that enabled Thailand to successfully deal with its COVID crisis. These factors include support by policymakers and robust investment in primary and universal healthcare systems, along with connectivity between the public, private, civil society, education and volunteer sectors. Another is the use of digital technology, research and innovation to facilitate data-driven decision-making.
The WHO has asked Thailand to produce its UHPR report for the National Communicable Disease Committee. The kingdom is also being asked to present its experiences at the World Health Assembly at the end of this month. Thailand will be working with three other UHPR pilot nations to improve the review process so it may later be applied in other countries.