The UN in Thailand

The UN supports the Government and people of Thailand to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by strengthening public health services and capacity. In the leave no one behind mandate, the UN advocates for raising old age, child and disability grants and supports the Government with real-time monitoring of gender-based violence and violence against children. To build back better, the UN has undertaken socio-economic, labour and industrial impact assessments. To promote solidarity, the UN is reaching more than 25 million people to amplify risk communications, generate narratives to counter misinformation and hate speech, and promote mental wellness. 

The UN is supporting the Government in achieving its ambitious target to cut the rate of teenage pregnancies to 25 per 1,000 by 2026, as compared to the current rate of 50 per 1,000 by contributing to reversing the current trend through policy advocacy and technical support.

The UN is promoting investment in low-carbon enterprises by supporting small and medium enterprises to adapt energy-efficient practices and use low carbon technologies. The UN supported action towards achieving reduction targets by improving the management of peatland ecosystems as carbon sinks, integrating low-carbon development plans, and demonstrating solutions in target cities, as well as building gender and social inclusion into climate budgeting frameworks. Reductions totaled 14,000 tons of carbon emissions, more than 210,000 tons per year of solid waste was utilized, and 266,000 MWh of power generated.

The UN made inroads on inclusive migration policy and strategy by launching the Thailand Migration Report, a joint UN collaboration that assesses the challenges faced by migrants as well as progress in protection and inclusion to inform future policy. The report demonstrates the importance of migration in Thailand and the region, looking at social and economic dimensions and the role of the UN in technical advice and advocacy. 

Through the joint programme of the SDG Fund on Social Protection, the UN is providing integrated policy solutions for Thailand’s social protection system, supporting the Government to maximize the Child Support Grant, covering 2 million children under the age of six and linking the grant to other social services. The UN is also advocating for domestic workers, including migrants, by providing policy options to ensure more effective coverage within existing social security schemes.

The UN and the Government have developed a unique partnership through the Task Force on Non-Communicable Diseases, co-chaired by the Prime Minister and the Resident Coordinator, which combats the growing threats to health by introducing plain packaging for tobacco, addressing interference from tobacco, alcohol, air polluters and the food industry, increasing the tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, and simplifying the cigarette tax system.