Page 24 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL10

Investment in infrastructure often misses the real culprit, the doctor says. “The myth of cancer as the number one killer has driven the Public Health Ministry and medical profession to invest in more technology to cure cancer patients.”In reality, taking more lives than cancer are non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes that result from unhealthy lifestyles. Most NCDs can be overcome by eating right and exercising regularly. Very little budget is allocated for this although 65% of illness in Thailand comes from NCDs. Instead, 70% of the ministry budget is used to treat problems such as stroke or kidney disease, which might have been prevented had patients been better educated on healthy living.“NCDs come from materialistic society and globalized lifestyle.People eat junk food because the consumption looks modern, without knowing that the ingredients are bad for health. The ministry needs to provide more programmes to educate society about unhealthy consump- tion.”Dr Boonruang believes Thailand should still be proud of the quality of its public health services. Among the reasons is the 30-baht universal health care system that has become a model in other countries, including for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Thailand has become an international medical hub. Another service to be proud of is Thailand’s drug rehabilitation programmes. Ministry staff works closely with non-governmental organisations to create rehabilitation programmes that can respond to different types of drug users and psychological symptoms.“The challenge is how to returnNCDs come from “materialistic societyand globalized lifestyle. People eat junk food because the consumption looks modern, without knowing that the ingredients arebad for health”22 Elite+