The Population and Community Development Association in Thailand

Abstract

When I returned to Thailand in 1965 after studying in Australia, I learned in a very unusual and personal way the value of publicity. A relative of mine asked an unusual favor. She was chaperoning a young Thai woman who had just won the Miss Universe beauty pageant to a number of congratulatory functions, and she wanted me to accompany them. I accepted, not knowing that the Thai people would go crazy about this. Because I want everywhere with them and was frequently photographed, I also became a kind of celebrity.

Shortly thereafter, I got a job with the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), where several years later I became chief of the evaluation section. This often required me to travel up-country to the rural areas to assess and report on development progress. Everywhere I want, there were so many children; I could see that population growth was just eating away at whatever progress we made in terms of our development. A study asked people, “Do you have enough for your children-enough education, enough facilities, everything you need as an adult? ” The answer was almost always “no.” A World Bank study calculated that annual population growth was about 3.3 percent at the time, but there was no population policy or program.