Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health and IOM Work to Promote Migrants’ Access to Health Services

Tak, Thailand – The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Thailand have launched a two-year initiative in Tak Province to improve access to essential healthcare services and health insurance for migrants along the Thailand–Myanmar border. This initiative aims to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks by strengthening the capacity of Migrant Health Volunteers (MHVs) and frontline health workers, while fostering cross-border cooperation on disease surveillance. 

“An estimated 1.8 million migrants in irregular situations and a lot of migrant workers in Thailand still cannot access the national health insurance system, putting them at risk of exposure to communicable diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), malaria and HIV,” said Dr Supachoke Vejjaphanphesat, Ministry of Public Health Inspector-General, quoting the data from Thailand Migration Report 2024. 

“When migrants lack healthcare, everyone’s health is at risk,” continued Dr. Supachoke. “Recognizing this, Thailand has made tremendous efforts to expand universal health coverage to migrants and mobile populations, as well as collaborate with various sectors and international organizations to support these population groups." 

According to Thailand Migration Report 2024, there were 1.1 million Myanmar migrants who arrived in Thailand, including nearly 40 per cent who entered through Tak Province, placing greater demands on local health systems. Many migrants in vulnerable situations face barriers in accessing healthcare, including language, documentation, and lack of information. 

To address this challenge, MOPH will collaborate with IOM to implement the project ‘Enhancing Local Migration Health System Governance in Tak Province to Improve Migrant Inclusion in Universal Health Coverage’ to enhance migration health governance and promote improved access to essential healthcare among migrants and border communities. 

“This pilot initiative marks an important step in ensuring that migrants and border communities have access to the care they need,” highlighted Dr Leena Bhandari, Chief Migration Health Officer at IOM Thailand. “In an increasingly mobile world, investing in migrant health is a win–win scenario - for both people on the move and the communities that host them.” 

The project will (1) Enhance the capacity of Migrant Health Volunteers (MHV) to serve as the bridge between the migrant communities and health services providers; (2) Strengthen the frontline health workers and border hospitals, for example, Mae Sot General Hospital; and (3) Develop cross-border cooperation on disease surveillance, information exchange, and risk management.   

This initiative was made possible with financial support from IOM’s Development Fund.  

For more info, please contact Moemen Nader at mnader@iom.int or Anushma Shrestha at anshrestha@iom.int.