8 Government agencies join forces to manage health risk factors, aiming to reduce non-communicable diseases among Thais
Currently, Thailand is facing the problem of non-communicable diseases, or NCDs, such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, which significantly impact the quality of life of the population and the country's public health system. Recently, 8 health and related agencies have collaborated to organize the international academic conference NCDH2026 to find sustainable solutions to the problem.
This collaboration consists of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Health Commission Office (NHCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Health Security Office (NHSO), the Health Systems Research Institute (HSRI), and the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP), with a focus on regulating 'commercial determinants' that affect public health.
The commercial determinants mentioned include the marketing of unhealthy products such as foods high in sugar, fat, or sodium, as well as alcohol and tobacco, which are often advertised in ways that are easily accessible to consumers. Therefore, this conference focuses on setting policies and control measures to reduce access to these products and encourage citizens to have better consumption choices.
The key goal of this collaboration is to create an environment conducive to well-being, using academic data and research as a basis for policy decision-making so that Thai people can change their behaviors and reduce the risk of developing NCDs in a concrete and long-term manner.
The joining of forces by these 8 agencies is considered a significant step in addressing structural problems that affect the health of Thai people. Future operations will focus on building cooperation with various sectors to ensure that the established measures can be practically implemented nationwide, leading to better health for all Thai people.