Thailand's Family Planning Program: An Asian Success Story

Prospects and Contexts of Demographic Transitions in Thailand

“…The population growth in the Kingdom was likely affected by the decline of mortality. It was observed that after World War II, the death rates of Thai people fell sharply from about 30 deaths per 1,000 individuals to less than 15 per 1,000 in the mid-1960s (Rosenfield, Bennett, Varakamin, & Lauro, 1982). Declines in death rates were an outcome of the adoption of modern medicine and the improvements of sanitation in the country which began around the late 19th century (Carmichael, 2008).…”

After Cairo: women's reproductive and sexual health, rights, and empowerment

“…Having had the opportunity to work in Thailand during the formative years of the country's hugely successful national family planning program (1967)(1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972)(1973) 4 In 1967, less than 5% of the population was using contraception, and Thai women had, on average, 6 or 7 children by the end of their reproductive years. Today, close to 70% of women of reproductive age (or their partners) are using some form of modern contraception, and completed family size is 2 or 3 children.…”

Vasectomy--An International Appraisal

“…3 Medical personnel in Sri Lanka performed 6,000 procedures in 1979, 51,000 in 1980 and 29,000 in 1981.4 Vasectomies in Thailand totaled 19,000 in 1977 and 44,000 in 1978, but declined to 28,000 by 1981. 5 The reasons for the year-to-year variations in numbers of procedures are not always known, but the introduction of simplified female sterilization procedures, fluctuating government policies and erratic funding for vasectomy programs are frequently cited. Thailand, for example, boosted its vasectomy total by introducing mobile operating units that traveled into rural areas to perform male sterilizations.…”