Thai health officials and biosafety mobile units to support active case findingin high-risk communities.
Source: Chulabhorn Royal Academy Facebook page

          To assist the government in tackling the crisis, Their Majesties’ contributions were multifaceted and well-thought out, bringing meaningful impact across high-risk communities nation-wide. These include donations of essential life-saving medical equipment and supplies to prevent, test and treat patients, as well as relief to alleviate economic and social adversities, and even support for children-turned-orphans whose parents succumbed to the disease. Most recently, donations have also been extended to finance the setting up of field hospitals, community isolation centres, and quarantine sites all over the country to help reduce the burden of hospitals in treating COVID-19 patients. 

Digital portable x-ray devices, with artificial intelligence systems, have been delivered 
to 19 field hospitals to provide treatment for COVID-19 infected patients. Source: Royal Office website

          The value of contributions which came from Their Majesties’ personal funds are estimated at 1.3 billion baht. These include, inter alia, 488 ventilators, 740,000 sets of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for frontline workers and health care professionals, 624 power air-purifying respirators (PAPR) for use in operation rooms and ICUs; eight ambulances for transporting patients in remote areas, equipped with 4G communications technology; modular swab units equipped with pressure-controlled ventilation, decreasing the risk of infections for medical personnel to 20 hospitals nationwide; 36 Biosafety Mobile Units for active case finding missions, particularly in high-risk areas; funding of 243.8 million baht to the Department of Corrections to procure medical equipment to care for inmates in penitentiaries who had contracted the virus; and 227.4 million baht worth of care packages to 659 communities in Bangkok and other provinces as well as freshly cooked meals for medical personnel and communities in high-risk areas of infections in Bangkok.

Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother donates Powered Air Purifying
Respirators (PAPR) for frontline COVID-19 medical personnel. 
Source: Royal Office website

          Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn, as President of the Royal Chulabhorn Academy, has also played an active role in advancing medical science and care in Thailand. The Royal Chulabhorn Academy, as an advanced public health and medical research institute under state supervision, has stepped up efforts to help the country secure more vaccines against COVID-19, sharing the responsibility to help save lives in a crisis situation. Through an established procedure under the law, the Academy has thus far procured two million doses of Sinopharm: one million doses arrived in Thailand on 20 June 2021, and another one million doses arrived on 4 July. 

Chulabhorn Royal Academy helps to administer Sinopharm to save lives during the public health crisis. Source: Royal Office website

         Despite these efforts, Thailand, as with many other countries, is temporarily facing a shortage of vaccines. This can be attributed to inequitable distribution of vaccines around the world, as well as an overall shortage of vaccine supplies, caused by circumstances in the global vaccine industry and supply chains as acknowledged by the World Health Organisation. On its part, the Thai Government is also doing all it can, leaving no stones unturned and working closely with both the public and private sectors of other countries to procure more vaccines.

Medical personnel at Chulabhorn Royal Academy administering the AstraZeneca vaccine. Source: Chulabhorn Royal Academy Facebook page

         Tackling the COVID-19 pandemic certainly requires an all-of-society approach if we are to successfully save lives and bring back normalcy. The Thai monarchy certainly has been doing its part. For generations, the Royal Family has consistently supported the development of the country’s public health system. It has contributed towards both the hard infrastructure, in terms of hospitals and medical supplies, as well as the soft infrastructure, through capacity building of medical personnel and strengthening local communities: all with the ultimate goal of building a healthy and resilient society for sustainable development, and preparedness against any public health crisis.