World Population Day marked in Thailand

Echoing the global observance of World Population Day, Thailand marked the Day with a panel discussion on the topic of Gender Equality in Health through Legislation organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Thailand in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health and the Institute for Population and Social Research of Mahidol University. On this occasion, a publication was also launched entitled Reproductive Health of Women in Thailand: Progress and Challenges towards Attainment of International Development Goals published by the UNFPA Country Technical Services Team (CST) for East and South-East Asia, Bangkok.

This report examines Thailand’s progress in the area of women’s reproductive health in the context of major international declarations and conventions including the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the Beijing Declaration (1995) and the Millennium Development Goals.

“Ten years after the Cairo and Beijing conferences, much progress is made in Thailand, as in many Asian countries. There is a better realization that gender inequality compromises development in general and women’s reproductive rights in particular”, states in the foreword to the report Mr. G. Giridhar, UNFPA Representative in Thailand and Director, CST for East and South-East Asia. “However, women must not be portrayed merely as victims… Many studies show that sustainable development requires effective participation and involvement of women. In this context, the Millennium Development Goals, while not perfect and comprehensive, provide an unprecedented unifying framework for international support and national execution”, he said.