History of PPAT

The history of the family planning program in Thailand has its roots in the years following the end of World War II. At that time, Thailand began to experience a sharp decline in the mortality rate and a continuous rise in the birth rate. The result was a rapid increase in the population growth rate which seemed certain to eventually upset the equilibrium between the size of the country’s population and its available resources.

The problem was brought into sharper focus by a report made by the World Bank in 1959 that the Thai population was growing at an alarming rate. It predicated that population pressure would result in such problems as a shortage of schools, inadequate housing, poor health care and unemployment. The World Bank experts declared that even if national production could be increased significantly during the ensuing five years, the increase would not be sufficient to meet the needs of the country’s growing population.

After considering the dimensions of this problem the Government assigned the National Research Council and later to the National Economic and Social Development Board to propose solutions. Serveral national seminars were held for this purpose during the period of 1963-1968.

The Ministry of Public Health in 1964 launched some family planning activities on a trial basis in selected rural areas. Meanwhile, some concerned government officials, businessmen, social workers and physicians formed a group who volunteered its services to draft an operational structure that would be able to provide family planning information education and services to the interested public even in the absence of government policy approximately two years prior to the government’s acceptance of voluntary family planning as a principal population policy instrument. On 14 April 1970, the working group of those volunteers was registered as The Planned Parenthood Association of Thailand (PPAT). After the official recognition of family planning, PPAT has been one of the leading NGOs in providing supportive and complementary role in government’s family planning efforts. Most notable of all, PPAT is the only family planning related NGO in Thailand which has been granted permission to operate under the patronage of Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother. The Planned Parenthood Association of Thailand (PPAT) is presently the only Thai organization with membership in the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), which has its headquarters in London. Every year IPPF provides budget and other maternal support for the operation of PPAT.

PPAT is a private, non-profit and non-political organization. The Association dose not work for particular benefit of anyone, individual, or group, but aims to educate and serve the entire community, helping the larger society to improve their quality of life and to better understand population problems.

Objectives of PPAT

1. To provide information, guidance, counselling, education and training, including services with regard to family planning, sex education, family life education and quality of life development for the general public, individuals and other target population groups as well as to stimulate and promote individual’s responsibility toward their families in order to better the quality of life of each family, community and the country.
2. To stimulate and encourage other agencies in both government and private sectors for greater awareness on population problems and development of population quality.
3. To find ways and means to provide services and promote new initiatives and ideas about family planning and quality of life development in order that substantial activities shall be implemented efficiently and effectively for real benefits of the people.
4. To implement projects in support of and for the success of identified national population policy in addition to other operations within the scope of PPAT’s objective as specially requested by concerned government agencies.
5. To collaborate, participate in activities and create good relationships with government and private organization as well as other institutions of same or similar objectives both in Thailand and aboard.
6. To implement all other tasks in relation to and for the success of the above mentioned objectives.