Despite learning and adopting from World Health Assembly, the uniqueness of Thailand National Health Assembly lie into the participation of the 3-sector constituencies – government sector, academia and people sector – from agenda setting to implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
This year, the NHA Organizing Committee has decided to convene the 9th National Health Assembly (NHA 9) under the theme of “From Sufficient Economy’s Philosophy to Health System Charter and Sustainable Wellbeing” from 21 – 23 December 2016 at IMPACT, Nonthaburi province.
Organizations and networks proposed the NHA organizing committee twenty-nine issues consisting twenty-one new issues from organizations and networks; six issues resubmitted from organizations and networks items; and two issues revisited from the NHA resolution drive and follow-up committee.
With the four criteria for selection of proposed NHA agenda items that are 1) importance of the issue 2) magnitude of the problem 3) public interest and 4) feasibility of the issue to drive into policy or implementation, the NHA Organizing Committee had a resolution to announce the four agenda items of NHA 9 as follows.
1. Safe drinking water for people
2. Participatory health promotion for children aged 0 – 6 years
3. Urban management and development
4. Area based mosquito control
Moreover, nine passed resolutions will be reported the progress of their implementation
1. National policy for health system development in multi-cultural areas in Southern border provinces (NHA 1)
2. Equal access to basic health services (NHA 1)
3. Equal access to health services by the disabled (NHA 3)
4. Mechanism and process of the health assembly (NHA 5)
5. National joint strategic plan on community health system (NHA 6)
6. Strategic plan for tackling illegal advertisements of drugs, food and health products (2014 – 2018) (NHA 6)
7. Development of health technology assessment (NHA 7)
8. Management of steroid that threaten the health of Thai population (NHA 7)
9. Development of Thailand’s global health strategy (NHA 7)
After adoption at the National Health Assembly, all resolutions will be submitted to the National Health Commission which is chaired by the Prime Minister. The Commission will consider taking appropriate actions to achieve the resolutions, including, if necessary, submitting to the Cabinet. Thus it is a combination of using both ‘soft’ social power and power of ‘wisdom’ and the ‘hard’ authoritative power to formulate and implement Health in All Policies.
Timeline of the 9th National Health Assembly
