The UN in Thailand

Together with the Ministry of Interior, the UN brokered a landmark agreement with all 77 Governors of Thailand, to progress SDG localization, with a focus on climate action. This is already enabling 14 million rural households to segregate their waste and reduce their carbon emissions, yielding over 550,000 tons in carbon reductions each year. The first tranche of the carbon credits has been bought by a Thai bank and the money will be used to invest in local infrastructure supporting decentralization. 

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is partnering with FAO to support sustainable forest management and protection which will cover 1,800,000 hectares constituting 11% of forested land in Thailand. Together with the private sector, it will also promote community forests with 65,000 smallholders living in biodiverse buffer zones. This will generate 1 million tons of CO2 credits, of which 40% will be earned by smallholders. The initiative overall will support 4.2% of GHG reductions, amounting to 18 million metric tons of carbon. It will also contribute to biodiversity conservation as well as reducing illegal logging and wildlife trafficking.

As non-communicable diseases impose great economic and social burdens in Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health, Chiangmai University and WHO launched demonstration sites to improve hypertension management in primary healthcare. The objective of this project includes developing an online learning platform for primary care workers and revising protocols for community-led diagnosis, treatment, and management. It also includes developing an online platform to monitor facility-based care performance indicators and strengthening the primary care system through stakeholders’ engagement. The evidence-based policy recommendations resulting from this initiative have the potential to reach 10 million people nationwide.

Partnering with the Ministry of Education, Equitable Education Fund and various private sector partners, UNESCO is addressing inclusive digital learning, including developing digital education policies targeted at reaching marginalized learners; enhancing holistic digital citizenship competencies among learners; and equipping teachers with digital competencies. It is expected that over 300,000 youth and adults will develop enhanced digital skills for employability and lifelong learning, while another 500,000 users, including vulnerable migrant children on the Thai Myanmar border will receive access to learning materials and daily ‘Digital School’ online lessons.

Under the leadership of the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and the Ministry of Education, UNFPA in partnership with the private sector and civil society, is scaling up sexual and reproductive health services in border and northern provinces. This initiative includes the “Teen Club” digitalized service that has enabled over 50,000 young people to take better reproductive health decisions, and which will reach 8 million users by 2030.

To support youth aged 15-24 impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in terms of labour opportunities, ILO launched the Young Futuremakers Thailand initiative which provides demand-led technical skills, employability training, career guidance and placement. Together with the Ministry of Labor, ILO provided technical skills and employability training to over 550 youth, including 150 young persons with disabilities. They also developed a Public Employment Services diagnostic tool that identifies opportunities for closing gaps in and adapting to rapid changes in the labour market. This initiative will be developed even further by improving existing public employment services.