National Health Assembly
24th – 26th December 2014
IMPACT Arena Exhibition & Convention Center
Nonthaburi, Thailand
The Health Assembly is “a process in which the relevant public and State agencies exchange their knowledge and cordially learn from each other through a participatory and systematically organized forum, leading to recommendations on Healthy Public Policies or Public Healthiness.”
Stipulated in the National Health Act 2007, National Health Assembly (NHA) is one of the most important social mechanisms to facilitate the evidence based policy making with great emphasis on multi-sectoral and stakeholder participation.
NHA is therefore a year-round policy process, not a one-time event. The constituencies of NHA – government sector, academia and people sector – take part in the policy process from agenda setting to implementing. Thailand employs this process to enable Health in All Policies.
This year, the NHA Organizing Committee has decided to convene the 7th National Health Assembly (NHA 7) under the theme of “Strengthen Solidarity, Act together to Reform for Social Well-being” from 24th – 26th December 2014 at IMPACT, Nonthaburi.
There are 75 policy proposals submitted by 58 organizations/networks and were seconded by 57 organizations/networks to the NHA Organizing Committee. The Organizing Committee considered the proposed policy proposals by considering the following points
1. Importance of the issue
2. Magnitude of the problem
3. Public interest
4. Feasibility of the issue to drive into policy or action
Finally, the NHA Organizing Committee had the 8/2557 resolution on 6th November 2014 finalizing the number and issues of the agenda items of NHA 7 as follows.
NHA 7 has 6 agenda items to be discussed this year
1. Policy development to support the mechanism on child, youth and family’s protection from risk factors
2. Development of health intervention and technology assessment system for decision making
3. Management of steroid as a threatening factor to the health of the population
4. Elimination of pancreas and cholangiocarcinoma
5. Development of Thailand’s Global Health Strategy
6. Review of NHA resolution on the protection of wellbeing and society from the impacts of free trade.
8 Passed resolutions will be reported the progress of their implementation
1. Prevention of road accidents (NHA 2)
2. Fairness in access to health services by people living with difficulties (NHA 3)
3. Prevention and mitigation of health impact from biomass power plant (NHA 5)
4. Transforming health profession’s education in response to the current situation of the country (NHA 5)
5. Management of smoke hazes that affecting health (NHA 5)
6. Monk and building well-being (NHA 5)
7. Supportive system and structure for walking and cycling in daily living (NHA 5)
8. Accelerating and strengthening fairness in access to health services by people living with difficulties (NHA 5)
The resolutions from the NHA will be submitted to the National Health Commission 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 ‘healthy public policies’.
