Plan to eradicate poverty launched
A local development agency is to propose a new sandbox project in 7 target provinces to the new government, with the aim of eradicating poverty in these areas by the year 2027.
During the seminar “Thailand’s poverty situation: Problems and solutions” on Monday, the Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) said it is planning a sandbox programme in 7 target provinces after more than 4 years of surveying the 20 poorest provinces of Thailand.
The provinces of Lampang, Kalasin, Mukdahan, Roi Et, Phatthalung, Pattani and Yala have been selected to run the sandbox programme that aims to eradicate poverty and build social opportunities for locals by the year 2027, said Kitti Satjawattana, director of NXPO’s Programme Management Unit on Area Based Development (PMUA).
He said the PMUA has jumpstarted the programme by signing MOUs and agreements with local educational institutes and provincial administration agencies to carry out plans to help over 8.1 million people in vulnerable groups in a fast and systematic manner.
Besides proposing the programme to the new government, the PMUA will also propose a five-point plan to help tackle poverty in Thailand sustainably. They are:
1. Using the framework of the Poverty Eradication and Life Cycle Development Centre to create policy- and area-based cooperation to tackle poverty, with a focus on increasing participation from communities, civil society, and higher education institutes.
2. Establishing local units to drive poverty policies by working closely with the communities and local administrative organisations.
3. Prioritising state benefits to people at the lowest level of the poverty scale, as well as updating the database of the state welfare card scheme to include poor people who were previously overlooked or excluded from the system.
4. Establishing a database of area-based poverty targets to ensure efficient policy implementation and effective result monitoring.
5. Creating a value chain for each target area and incorporating poor people into it to create sustainable income while supporting local enterprises.
Kitti concluded that tackling poverty in target areas should receive highest priority as Thais are suffering from increasing household debts of 15 trillion baht, or 87% of GDP. He said the estimated economic expansion of 3.6% in 2023 would not help much if poor people have to spend most of their earnings to pay off debts.
