My impression of Study on Health Assembly

Ms. Khanitta Saeiew (ILDC 2019)
The National Health Commission Office (NHCO), Thailand

Q: What motivated you to co-organize Chika-Chika on Health Assembly?

When I learned Tamil Nadu Government implementing Health Assembly (HA), I felt wonderful.

One reason is that India is the first country among other governments to inquire about HA from us. We are delighted to know that the Tamil Nadu Government has decided to invest in promoting people’s participation in policy making. The second reason is that one of the members working on Tamil Nadu HA is my batchmate from ILDC2019. So, I want to help as much as possible.

Q: How did you prepare for the session?

Before the 1st meeting in March, we had a prepatory meeting among 5-6 CSO members from our network in Thailand because I want to balance and compare my experiences with Thai networks before share to international friends, so the learning loop also cover Thai friends.

These members were expected to participate in the session so they could share their experiences as CSOs with Indian and other international friends. We prepared to discuss the background, basic mechanisms, proposal selection, and challenges for the session.

We also discussed and planned the topic for the session with the Indian team.

Q: What is your impression?

Having had two sessions, we found that we can help each other by utilizing this platform.

Of course, there are differences in the situation and the level of HA between India and Thailand. It might be easier for NHCO to work with the Health Ministry of the Thai Government because it operates at the national level.

Additionally, in the Thai NHA, we are committed to working with various stakeholders to achieve health-related policies. By studying more about the gaps between Tamil Nadu CSOs and the government, we may be able to find a better model suitable for the Tamil Nadu HA.

Q: Any findings so far?

Not only for the Indian team, but we at NHCO also realized that this is a good opportunity to reflect on our activities. We had never considered and document about tactics on “how NGOs can bring the voice of the people to the local government through HA.” When this was brought up in the session, we recognized the importance of discussing these points with CSO members in Thailand.

Informal sharing provides the best space for us to delve deeply into our strategies. It allows us to identify key insights and move forward. We are committed to contributing to the process of HA in India and making a positive impact.