On May 31, 2023, World Vision Foundation of Thailand, represented by Linfa Up-Patcha, Women and Children Affected by Migration Grants Manager, received a plaque of honour as an outstanding organisation supporting the disease prevention and control mission at the international level and for foreigners living in Thailand from the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health.
Aside from its priorities in reaching vulnerable children to improve their quality of life, WVFT, with the support of local and international funding sources, also focuses on enhancing health systems that allow migrants in Thailand to access health services and disease prevention and control, as well as promoting migrant protection based on human rights, counter-trafficking in persons and education access for migrant children. Impacts from relevant initiatives and their impacts are as follows:
Stop TB and AIDS through RRTTPR
WVFT has been supported by the Global Fund since 2003 to implement the project to stop tuberculosis and AIDS in migrants by promoting the rights to access information and disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment for all, as well as building everyone’s understanding about the diseases and treat the infected persons without stigmatism or discrimination. Presently, the project is implemented in 7 provinces: Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Chiang Rai, Tak, Ranong and Phuket.
WVFT, under the support of the Global Fund, has collaborated with AIDS Healthcare Foundation (Thailand), Ranong Provincial Public Health Office and Myanmar’s Kawthoung General Hospital, Ministry of Health and Sports to develop a healthcare mechanism and partnership in the treatment and case referral of TB, HIV/AIDS and malaria across the border of Thailand’s Ranong and Myanmar’s Kawthoung to ensure that migrants have access to health services and receive proper treatment and referral, as well as repatriation upon their will. The project will lead to more effective disease control, prevention and solutions to key communicable diseases.
COVID-19 vaccination: the basic right to good health that migrant workers are entitled to
The majority of migrant workers did not have access to their right to good health during the pandemic in the previous three years. This manifests the social problem of basic rights that face approximately 5 million migrants in Thailand. It is estimated that only 24% of them had access to and received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine while all migrant workers should be able to enjoy the health basic right they are entitled to. During the COVID-19 crisis, WVFT, supported by WHO Thailand, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Ministry of Public Health and various civil society organisations, facilitated more than 100,000 migrant workers to access the vaccination service.
Field hospitals in Ranong
WVFT, supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), collaborated with government agencies to conduct COVID-19 active case finding in migrant worker communities to screen suspected patients and refer PUI (persons under investigation) to be quarantined at field hospitals.
In Ranong province, WVFT partnered with Ranong Provincial Administration, Ranong Hospital and Mueang Bang Rin Municipality to set up 5 field hospitals for COVID-19 migrant patients and dispatched WVFT staff and migrant health volunteers to support communications for patients. Other services provided included new case admission, food delivery and notification of urgent cases.
Migrant Health Volunteers
It is over 20 years since WVFT has worked to promote human rights, good health and anti-trafficking among migrant workers and their children. We have been aware of the language barrier and have seen the opportunity to better reach the migrant groups in need. That was the beginning of our effort to drive the migrant health volunteer network.
Currently, the network has more than 300 migrant health volunteers in 11 areas including Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Nakhon Pathom, Sa Kaeo, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Tak, Ranong and Phuket.
In 2022, WVFT reached 152,000 migrants through our COVID-19 Response and Recovery and other projects aiming to stop HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria and to counter trafficking in persons, as well as supporting more than 3,000 migrant children to access education, health services and birth registration.
