Sanitation Program Development for Rural Thailand in Relation to the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade

The sanitation level in the villages of Thailand is still generally low despite the past efforts of the Sanitation Division of the Department of Health. Consequently, the Royal Thai Government (RTG) is embarking on a national sanitation program with a view to minimizing the occurrence of excreta-related diseases in the rural communities, which will be implemented together with the rural water supply program, so as to produce the optimum effects on health. This dual program, otherwise known as the “Thailand Decade Plan,” will be initiated in 1985 and will continue until the end of 1991. The realization of this plan will serve as Thailand's commitment to the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (IDWSSD). With only 2.8 million pour-flush (PF) latrines installed up to the end of 1983, accounting for 44.3% of the total number of households, the plan calls for the provision of an additional 2.5 million PF latrines in order to achieve the target, which is to provide 75% of households with PF latrines by the end of 1991. Considering the attitudes and economic status of the Thai rural people, the proposed strategies for the implementation of the sanitation program will be the provision of material subsidies and/or “revolving funds,” with strong support from such activities as health education, especially for women and children, and the necessary training of personnel. Implementation of the plan will require an investment of approximately Baht 1,792.6 million (roughly U.S.$ 66.4 million).