CHIANG MAI: The Ministry of Public Health will soon announce measures to promote artificial insemination among people wanting to be parents, including among the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, as part of efforts to boost the birth rate.
Minister Cholnan Srikaew said during a meeting with Jos Vandelaer, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative for Thailand at Nakhonping Hospital on Monday that the ministry has assigned the Department of Health (DoH) to come up with measures to support access to infertility treatments and preconception counselling.
The DoH was told to find ways to maximise the ability to provide intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) services for those in need.
A law amendment to make infertility treatment accessible to single women and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community is also under consideration, Dr Cholnan said, adding such an amendment is expected to be tabled in March.
The ministry plans to push infertility treatment as a fundamental benefit covered by the nation's health security scheme.
Boosting fertility has been placed on the national agenda under the "Give Birth, Great World" campaign, said Dr Cholnan.
The ministry has been working to protect the reproductive and sexual health rights of people, especially those in sensitive groups. This mission has received good support from international agencies, including the WHO, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), he said.
According to the Interior Ministry, the current population is 66,052,615, down 0.06%, or 37,860, compared to 2022. The number of births last year -- 485,085 -- was the lowest in 70 years.