On 23-24 November 2006, EPF organised a field visit to Thailand for European Parliamentarians who had participated in the 2006 IPCI conference in Bangkok. Seven members of Parliament from Lithuania, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Scotland, Romania and Finland, visited SRHR projects in and around Bangkok. EPF was assisted by the host organisation Planned Parenthood Association of Thailand (PPAT).

The field visit included stops at Planned Parenthood of Thailand, for a presentation on sexual and reproductive health and right in Thailand; two youth programmes designed to raise awareness of gender equality, HIV/AIDS prevention, and reproductive health issues; the Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand, to learn about gender diversity issues and HIV/AIDS prevention outreach; and the Population and Community Development Association, at one of its subsidiary projects, the Condoms and Cabbages restaurant.


Key findings

- The openness and tolerance of Thai society provide an enabling environment for public health programmes to work. The results include significantly improved reproductive health, lower maternal mortality, lower rates of HIV infection and increased life expectancy, and further led to the conservation of natural resources, improved education and economic development.

- The participation of Buddhist clergy was very helpful in promoting family planning. There is some resistance to family planning and sexuality information amongst Islamic communities in the three southernmost provinces of Thailand. But for the most part there is no opposition to SRHR in Thailand.

- A collaborative effort that brings together doctors, public health experts, government officials, the military, community leaders, clergy, business people, talented individuals, parents and young people resulted in an enormously effective national family planning programme that integrated SRHR, empowerment, environmental issues, economic development and education.

- The involvement of parents in activities targeted to young people strengthened family relationships and increased enthusiasm for the programme.

- Visiting successful SRHR projects stimulated new thinking among Parliamentarians about efforts they could undertake in their own countries. Visiting successful projects also contributed evidence that SRHR programmes can have a significant positive impact on a country’s overall health and economic well-being, which will be useful for Parliamentarians in future discussions about funding SRHR in development.

- Providing reproductive health care to displaced persons and migrant workers is an ongoing challenge, particularly when migrants are undocumented and come from a society where there is little awareness of family planning.
 

Participants
Janina Andersson, MP Finland
Gabriela Cretu, MEP Romania
Patrick Harvey, MSP Scotland
Antonyia Parvanova, MEP Bulgaria
Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis, MP Cyprus
Birute Vesaite, MP Lithuania
Dr.Milorad Zivkovic, MP Bosnia-Herzegovina