Summary
Thailand, an upper-middle-income country with near-universal public insurance coverage through three major health schemes (UHC, CSMBS, and SSS), is ineligible for Gavi support or the MICs Approach.
The National Health Security Office (NHSO) is responsible for vaccine procurement and establishing a robust distribution system, which is overseen by the Department of Disease Control (DDC). Its National Immunization Programme (NIP), launched in 1977, currently includes 12 vaccines protecting against 14 diseases. Vaccination coverage generally meets WHO thresholds, though disparities remain across maternal education levels, language groups, and border populations.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) serves as Thailand’s NITAG-equivalent, advising the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) on vaccine inclusion and schedules. The immunization programme is financed mainly by the National Health Security Office (NHSO, with around 57% of programme costs allocated to vaccine purchase.
Immunization services are integrated into public primary care facilities and supported by a vendor-managed inventory system and real-time cold chain monitoring. Private providers also make significant contributions in urban areas. Surveillance of VPDs system is composed of three pillars – the national communicable diseases surveillance system, the disease specific reporting system, and event-based surveillance system. For AEFI monitoring, it is coordinated by the Thai FDA and was recognized as high-performing in the Southeast Asia Region.
About NIP Country Case
The NIP country case was part of the WHO APO report Comparative analysis of the national immunization programmes in select ASEAN and SAARC countries: progress and challenges. The study was conducted by the VaxLab team in 2023-2024.
More in the report Chapter 2 (PDF Page 71/154): https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/380387/9789290620785-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Content Editor: Tianyi Deng
Page Editor: Ruitong Li
