Resident Coordinator's message to the Social Protection Visioning Workshop

Permanent Secretary Khun Patcharee, Ministry colleagues, employers and workers’ organizations, academic partners, ladies, and gentlemen.

Thank you for joining us today for this important workshop on the future of the social protection system in Thailand and the lessons learned from recent consultations.

Before we get started, allow me to express my appreciation to the Royal Thai Government, especially the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, as well as the team who organized this event, for your leadership and strong partnerships on social protection.

The global pandemic has highlighted the critical role of social protection, not only in addressing vulnerabilities across the population, but also as a powerful tool of economic policy.

The UN recognizes that developments to Thailand’s social protection system in recent decades have demonstrated some of the best practices in the region.

This is not by accident, and we commend the Government and civil society for their hard work and progressive vision.

At the same time, we also understand that national stakeholders see room for improvement, particularly in terms of system integration.

With multiple Ministries and various entities at the national and sub-national levels involved in administration, it is not always easy to ensure that all the parts contribute to the same objectives and the social protection system meets its full potential.

Our agreement on this evaluation has led the UN to join the Government to carry out the Comprehensive Diagnostic of the Social Protection System.

Last year we organized a series of lively webinars to discuss different topics of interest, including children, the elderly and the extension of coverage to informal and migrant workers.

Today, we will have the chance to hear some of the conclusions of this in-depth analysis and detail about key aspects of the system.

Before we move to the discussion of concrete policy recommendations, however, it is a good time to discuss the overall vision regarding what the social protection system should look like.

Today, I invite all of you to put aside the hat of your specific organization and think about the bigger picture of what social protection can and should do for Thailand’s social and economic future.

On the UN side, this has been an important collaborative Country Team effort, funded by the United Nations Joint SDG Fund, and implemented under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator’s Office with ILO, IOM, UNICEF and UN Women.

We will continue to work closely with Government, especially the MSDHS, MOL, NESDC and MOF, as well as the private sector and civil society to support the design and implementation.

You have the full agenda in front of you today, and we invite all participants to join the discussions and share your ideas and experiences.

With your contributions, we will be able to move forward in strengthening the social protection system for all in Thailand, forging a model from which other countries can learn, and contributing to the realization of the 13th National Economic and Social Development Plan. 

I wish you all a productive day and look forward to working closely with you in the future based on the inputs from today’s discussions.

Thank you.