Showing 1 - 10 of 13
Salient warning
Postbag, Published on 16/11/2025
» Re: "Opium seen as promising medicinal crop", (BP, Nov 13).
30-baht scheme needs attention
Editorial, Published on 12/10/2025
» If we are to listen to what the National Health Security Office (NHSO) has told us, everything has been running smoothly with the universal healthcare programme, better known as the 30-baht scheme.
Keeping universal healthcare strong
Oped, Amanee Hamu, Thongchai Napim, Manatchaya Chuyingsakultip & Kullaporn Unnanon, Published on 24/09/2025
» For 23 years, Thailand's universal healthcare scheme, better known as the "gold card", has protected millions from financial ruin, a remarkable achievement that has earned worldwide praise. Yet, the system is not perfect.
Hypertension hides in plain sight
Oped, Jos Vandelaer & Renu Garg, Published on 15/05/2025
» Thailand's economy has surged. Its health care system is admired. Yet a silent killer is quietly stealing lives, straining hospitals, and sapping the nation's future. That killer is hypertension -- and it's hiding in plain sight.
US aid halt can be deadly for some
Oped, Nadia Hardman, Published on 14/03/2025
» Wah K'Ler Paw was just 30 when she died from renal failure in a remote Thai refugee camp near the Myanmar border. Her death was preventable, but the Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid abruptly cut her lifeline: dialysis that had kept her disease at bay.
UHC needs more funds
News, Editorial, Published on 05/09/2024
» With a Shinawatra returning to Government House, seeing the lavishing upgrade in the 30-baht universal healthcare coverage (UHC) is unsurprising. Nicknamed "the Gold Card" public healthcare system, it was conceived in 2002 under a Thai Rak Thai-led government with Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister.
A bargain in saving lives from malaria
News, Peter Singer, Published on 21/12/2023
» In 2021, malaria caused 619,000 deaths, 77% of which were children under five, and 96% of them in Africa. But now, after decades of research -- and several false dawns -- a malaria vaccine known as R21/Matrix-M (henceforth just R21) has been shown to be effective in 70-78% of cases. Although three doses are required before that level of protection is reached, and a booster is needed one year later, the vaccine, developed at the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, is cheap. It can be produced for US$2-$4 (70-140 baht) per dose -- comparable to the cost of other childhood vaccines.
Sodium also needs taxing
Oped, Editorial, Published on 31/03/2023
» Starting tomorrow, the third stage of a tax hike on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) will come into effect, meaning consumers with a sweet tooth will have to pay more for soft drinks with a high sugar content.
Conscription's days numbered
News, Editorial, Published on 11/12/2022
» Late last month, 23 high school students in Narathiwat were rushed to hospital after harsh military training. Eight needed dialysis due to life-threatening dehydration and kidney failure.
