3rd Main Committee, 3rd Subcommittee
Ten Year Review of Health Related Millennium Development Goals
Thailand
Haley Florsheim
Shorewood High School
Since the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were composed, many significant steps have
been taken towards achieving the targets that were established. The goals were formulated to set
aims for nations, to enable them to reach the global living standards outlined by the UN’s
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The health related MDGs were to reduce child
mortality as well as reduce maternal mortality, and to begin steps towards obliterating AIDS,
malaria, and tuberculosis worldwide.
Thailand is committed to achieving the MDGs, and has been relatively successful with all of the
three health related goals. Child mortality in Thailand has decreased dramatically since 1990.
As of 2006, 8 children for every 1,000 live births died before the age of five. In 2006, this
number was equivalent to the statistics for the United States. Child mortality before the age of
five is down from 31 deaths when the MDGs were instated. Both children and mothers receive
relatively advanced medical attention, which has allowed more children to survive through their
first years. Maternal mortality in Thailand has fallen greatly since 1990, from 200 deaths per
100,000 live births to 48 in 2008. Thailand has also made notable progress by reducing the
number of people contracting AIDS, already having achieved the MDG requirements. Similarly,
Thailand has surpassed the target numbers for malaria, and is within a reasonable range with
tuberculosis, although it is unsure whether the goal will be reached by 2015. The main difficulty
with continuing progress on the health related MDGs in Thailand is that despite efforts to extend
medical care, most cases of child mortality, maternal mortality, AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis
occur in disconnected areas where health workers are not actively treating patients. This makes a
solution difficult, because before further steps can be taken, the boundaries of healthcare must be
breeched.
The next progressive measure that should be taken in an effort to promote health worldwide is to
establish self-sufficient medical centers or facilities in the developing world. Although these
centers would require funding by the UN, the only way to make a lasting difference in remotearea medical care is to educate citizens of the area in basic medical procedure, so that they can
continue the expansion after the workers administering aid have left. Funding is best spent
educating and supplying the citizens rather than sending in groups to administer the healthcare,
which is a temporary solution.
Works Cited
“MDG Monitor: >MDG MONITOR :: Map :: Tracking the Millennium Development Goals." MDG
MONITOR ::” Tracking the Millennium Development Goals. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.
“East and Southeast Asia: Thailand.” CIA World Factbook. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.
“UNICEF - Thailand - Statistics." UNICEF - UNICEF Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
"United Nations Development Programme - Thailand." United Nations Development Programme Thailand. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.