Thailand

Thailand, ‘the land of the free’, is the only South-East Asian country never to have been under colonial rule. The country divides into four regions: the mountainous north, the fertile central region, the hilly south that descends to coastal plains on the east and west, and the semi-arid plain of the north-east. Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of rice and second-largest exporter of tapioca. Buddhism is the principal religion, with Islam also practised.

The economy has benefited from the country’s popularity as a tourist destination, however many poor people miss out on the these benefits – a third of the population still lives on less than $2 a day. The large-scale sex industry in Thailand has contributed to the recent increased rate of HIV infection and it is estimated up to 200,000 children and adolescents are engaged in prostitution.

Thailand was one of the countries badly affected by the tsunami on Boxing Day 2004, which killed over 5,300 people and made thousands more homeless. None of the children and communities Plan works with were directly affected in Thailand. However, in a situation like this we have a responsibility to help wherever we can, and Plan has been working with the government and other agencies to assist survivors.

Since the disaster Plan Thailand has been working with 2,020 families in 16 villages affected by the tsunami in Phuket, Phang-Nga and Krabi provinces, focusing on preschool building, teacher training and child protection programmes.

Some of the reasons why Plan works in Thailand

• 19% of children aged under five are underweight due to malnutrition
• More than a quarter of children do not attend secondary school
• A third of the population live on less than $2 a day
• A fifth of the rural population do not have access to safe drinking water