UNICEF says health of Thai women, children improving

Thailand has made substantial progress on the health of women and children, but needs to provide more education on preventing HIV and close the health gap between rich and poor, a UNICEF study found Friday.

Thailand has significantly increased immunisations and access to safe drinking water and sanitation since 1990, when its economy began expanding rapidly, the survey by the Thai government and United Nations Children's Fund said.


The National Statistical Office canvassed 43,000 households for the survey, the biggest ever to be conducted on the health and education of women and children in Thailand.

Among its main findings were that 98 percent of primary school-age children were attending classes, while 83 percent of one-year-olds had been vaccinated against six childhood diseases.

Some 94 percent of households had access to safe drinking water, and 99 percent had safe sanitation, it said.

"These are very impressive achievements that Thailand can be proud of," said Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF's country representative.

"At the same time, the results show that there are some remaining challenges," he added.

Only 5.4 percent of Thai babies were being exclusively breastfed in the first six months of life, which is the best way to ensure infants receive proper nutrition, the survey found.

Thailand also trails other countries in the use of iodised salt, which is the best way of ensuring that children receive enough of the nutrient that is crucial to preventing mental problems.

While Thailand has been praised internationally for its efforts to treat HIV/
AIDS, the survey found that more needed to be done to teach women how to prevent the disease.

Fewer than half of the women questioned completely understood how the disease was transmitted and how it can be prevented.

In many key measures, people who were rich and well-educated were healthier than poor Thais.

Poor children are four times as likely to be underweight as rich ones, and twice as likely to suffer stunted growth, it said.