As March 8, marked International Women’s Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness around the issues faced by girls and women worldwide, Organon (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a leading pharmaceutical company for women’s health, the Ministry of Public Health, non-government organisations, including the global NGO, Jhpiego, and the Kenan Foundation Asia, united at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC) to discuss how each sector can collaborate to improve the health and overall well-being of Thai women, girls, and their families.
The gathering also focused on advancing Thailand’s Smart Families initiative and its efforts to take a holistic approach to family planning, which directly impacts the future prospects of girls, women and society. Through Thailand’s “Smart Families” policy, the government has outlined an ambitious initiative to take a whole of government, whole of society, effort to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies in vulnerable populations while increasing resources available to support those who wish to have a child. In addition to generating greater health and economic prosperity for Thai girls and women, these policies will also make Thailand more economically resilient in the face of demographic changes.
The Thai Government was joined by Jhpiego and Organon (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a leading pharmaceutical company for women’s health, where each pledged its support for multisectoral collaboration at the International Women’s Day Declaration of Cooperation on Sustainable Healthcare Financing for Women’s Health event.
Dr. Satit Pitutacha, Deputy Minister of Public Health, said, “Smart Families have become an important initiative within the Asia region and APEC. At the APEC Smart Families Policy Dialogue held last August, several economies discussed this policy and addressed the urgency of Sustainable Healthcare Financing for Women’s Health. Improvements in family health have a direct impact on individuals and societies, and governments are well-positioned to use their resources to create lasting change. Professional organisations and governments should work together to ensure that holistic family planning is implemented effectively across all levels of society.”
Thailand’s Finance Minister Mr. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith also delivered a special lecture, in which he spoke of the Finance Ministry’s readiness in jointly studying the feasibility of sustainable financing for women’s health mechanisms to tangibly build up on the idea raised at the recent APEC session. The Minister further highlighted three particular pain points surrounding women’s health and well-being—namely, access to menstrual hygiene products, maternity leave, and pay gaps.
“Organon is committed to working with key stakeholders and bringing our global resources and expertise to remove barriers to healthcare financing for the women and girls of Thailand,” said Susanne Fiedler, Chief Commercial Officer, Organon. “By removing these barriers, we can enable broad availability of family planning resources and tools across the country, and across the APEC region, to help women and girls achieve their full potential, and support a strong economy.”
In addition to participating in the meetings regarding Smart Families and Sustainable Financing, Organon Thailand also marked International Women’s Day by announcing details of support educational, family health, and financial stability for Thai women and girls in local communities. This is part of a new global initiative by Organon, named “Her Plan is Her Power,” which aims to ensure women have the power to plan for their reproductive health and includes an inaugural grants program awarded to community-based projects in 13 countries, including the Kenan Foundation Asia in Thailand.
Khunying Kasama Varavarn Na Ayudhaya, a former permanent secretary of the Education Ministry and a current member of the Kenan Foundation Asia’s board of trustees, spoke about Smart Families collaboration. She said that her foundation recognises the importance of women and the many challenges they are facing today, be it about employment obstacles, political barriers or family problems. The Kenan Foundation Asia has thus worked closely with communities and various organisations to address women’s challenges in various dimensions, including educational, family health, and financial stability in hopes that they will have a brighter future, she said.
The Kenan Foundation Asia will be surveying local communities, with an initial focus on Rayong and Samut Prakan, in a bid to build their capacities towards smart family life planning in an effective manner. The foundation will also foster change agents in the target groups’ ecosystem as it drives policies on the empowerment of women and Smart Family Life Planning at both local and national levels.
Through its collaboration with the Public Health Ministry, Organon, and other allies, the Kenan Foundation Asia trusts that its initiative will receive greater interest from all sides and properly address women’s health, unwanted pregnancies, and demographic issues on a sustainable basis.
For more information on this collaborative project, check out Organon Thailand: Overview | LinkedIn and Kenan Foundation Asia: Overview | LinkedIn.