Embedding Peopleʼs Voice and Ensuring Participatory Governance: Lessons from the Thai Experience in Community Engagement

This chapter focuses on how community engagement (CE) can be implemented at the national and sub-national levels. CE has been identified as an essential pillar of strong people-centred governance which is needed to underpin Universal Health Coverage (UHC) reforms. The “whole of society approach” acknowledges the importance of families and communities in support of the efforts for disease prevention and control. It provides an overview of the evidence and outlines processes that enable effective community engagement and highlights lessons drawn. In particular, Thailand’s Universal Coverage Scheme’s (UCS) participatory governance approach has been a practical example and one of the myriad ways in which the voice of Thailand’s people has been embedded in legislations and operations to ensure that the governance of UCS is responsive to their needs. Four lessons from this experience include leadership and commitment at all levels, transparency and accountability to enable sustained engagement, legal frameworks, and the need for strong capacities in both the government and among communities. Lastly, it proposes the lessons learned and key messages for a proactive approach to CE in health.