Pattaya hand out free condoms
 
The National Health Security Office (NHSO) and Ministry of Public Health join hands with Pattaya City Administrative Organisation to distribute free condoms and birth control pills to the people.
 
Launched on Valentine’s Day, the free condom campaign was piloted in Pattaya City in Chon Buri province as part of the NHSO’s campaign to prevent unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
 

The launch event was held at Bali Hai Pier in Pattaya City, participated by executives from the NHSO, Chonburi Provincial Public Health Office, and civil society groups promoting safe sex and sex worker and gender rights — including Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand, Service Workers in Group (SWING) Foundation and Sisters Foundation.
 


Funded by the NHSO, more than 94 million condoms will be handed out this year, through health units partnering with the NHSO and free condom vending machines installed by health authorities.
 
Each person can request free 10 condoms a week.
 
“One of Pattaya City Administrative Organisation’s missions is to prevent unplanned pregnancy and the spread of infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases,” said Poramet Ngampichet, the Mayor of Pattaya City.
 
“We support the NHSO’s free condom campaign. It directly benefits our people by helping them access birth control services.” 
 

NHSO Deputy Secretary-General Dr Athaporn Limpanyalers said that all types of birth control methods were provided to beneficiaries of the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS), the government’s healthcare scheme overseen by the NHSO.
 
Those include intrauterine devices, injectable contraceptives, implant contraception, and emergency pills.
 
The most common sexually transmitted diseases among the Thai population are gonorrhea, non-gonococcal urethritis, chancroid, venereal disease, and syphilis.
 
The prevalence of most diseases has declined in the last five years.

But syphilis is on the rise. In 2021, syphilis was found in 14.83 of 100,000 people, doubling from 2017 and especially in youth aged between 15 and 24.

The increasing prevalence is associated with a low condom use rate among youth. 
 

Dr Athaporn said that the NHSO would install more free condom vending machines in areas beyond Pattaya if they show positive outcomes.
 
In Pattaya, three machines are located at Bali Hai Pier and Pattaya City Hospital. They are developed by Sabuy Technology company in partnership with the NHSO.
 
Vachirathorn Kongsuk, the company’s co-founder, said that the partnership aims to solve the challenges that obstruct Thai people from accessing condoms.
 
Many Thais don’t request condoms at hospitals or health centers because they feel embarrassed. The vending machines will close this gap, he said.
 
A user only needs to insert a Thai identification card into a machine and get free condoms right away.   



“We appreciate the government agencies that pay close attention to safe sex,” said Jamrong Pangnongyang, deputy director of Service Workers in Group Foundation known as SWING Pattaya.
 
“But there is still the gap. For example, some sex workers don’t want to expose their identities, and there should be channels for them to get free condoms without presenting their identification cards.”
 
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