Social communication, organization and community development. Family planning in Thailand
Duhl, L.J.
Assignment Children (65/68): 117-136
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0004-5128 Document Number: 449872
In the early 1970s, family planning in Thailand was restricted to servicing through medical channels and mentioning it was a cause of social embarrassment. Today, public discussion of and advertisements for family planning methods have become commonplace. This change has largely resulted from the activities of an NGO, the Population and Community Development Association (PDA), which has shown impressive achievements in promoting social awareness of family planning and the widespread adoption of contraception. The founder and, until recently, director of the PDA, Mechai Viravaidya, has been widely acclaimed for his energetic and imaginative efforts. His approach has, from the beginning, emphasized the need to introduce family planning in the context of people's attitudes and daily activities, and to demonstrate immediate practical benefits from lowered fertility. The programme's expansion and continued effectiveness have resulted from incorporation of all its initiatives within a total communication strategy for family planning and social development. An understanding of social motivation, combined with a large measure of humour and audacity, has led to the development of a wide range of culturally adapted social marketing strategies which have been implemented through the PDA programmes. Between 1974 and 1981, one of these programmes, the Community-Based Family Planning Services (CBFPS), grew from a pilot undertaking into a network of local self help schemes reaching over 16 200 villages in 158 districts with a population of 17 million. Its consumer oriented approach has been adopted within the National Family Planning Programme for extending coverage and maintaining high user rates.