Thailand has provided a safe place for refugees on a number of occasions during the second half of the twentieth century. Oxfam’s first grant in Thailand was made for assisting refugees from Laos in 1961 and refugees from Cambodia in 1970s. During the 1960s and 1970s we gave a number of grants to the Catholic Relief Services for treating people affected with leprosy (1963 – 64), for purchasing tractors and agricultural equipment (1967 – 68), and flood relief in southern Thailand (1974 – 75). During the 1980s and 1990s, Oxfam funded handicraft production projects, and bought products from the group for sale in Oxfam shops in the UK, thus raising funds for our work.

Oxfam opened its office in Thailand in 2003 to work closely with partners in the areas of sustainable agriculture, advocacy on treatment and access to medicine for people living with HIV and AIDS, labour and trade union rights, and disaster management.

Oxfam in Thailand

Although Thailand is a middle-income country with relatively high economic growth, pockets of poverty exist among vulnerable and marginalised men and women living in urban and rural areas. Oxfam works in partnership with non-government organisations, community-based organisations, activists, academics, researchers, Government, and civil society groups to address inequality and further help reduce poverty in Thailand.

Our approach

• Rights-based approach: By supporting the formation and participation of civil society organisations and empowering people’s knowledge on their rights, we are addressing inequality and promoting greater government accountability.
• Strategic partnership: We work with partners to advocate for policy changes using models or projects they successfully designed and implemented. To strengthen the civil society movement, we build alliances with different partners working towards the same goals, but focus on different types of activities. These complementary efforts encourage cooperation and efficiency and broaden the reach of the movement in general.
• Campaigning and advocacy: With our partners we organise campaigning activities to raise public awareness and motivate people to take action in influencing the Government’s policies and practices. We also work with other Oxfam affiliates to run regional and global campaigns calling on world leaders to set fair trade rules for Thailand.
• Gender equality: Gender discrimination and inequality are two of the root causes of poverty and suffering. Oxfam promotes gender equality in all areas of our work. Our staff work with partners who are highly committed to reduce gender-based inequality and we support our partners to incorporate gender analysis and strategies into all areas of the programming process.

What we do in Thailand

Oxfam works directly with communities and partners in several major areas:

• helping farmers have the means and skills to make a decent living through sustainable livelihoods
• carrying out campaigning and advocacy work;
• promoting the rights of workers and raising awareness about the impact of unfair labour practices;
• providing support and campaigning for access to HIV and AIDS treatment and medicines.
• We have been helping to rebuild lives after the tsunami.

Last updated: January 07