Raks Thai Foundation Awarded for Harm Reduction Programming
Executive Director Promboon Panitchpakdi discusses the intersection of SRHR and harm reduction services
24 July 2026
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APA Member Raks Thai Foundation was awarded the Outstanding Individual and Organization Award from the Office of the Narcotic Control Board (ONCB), Ministry of Justice, Thailand.
Raks Thai Foundation is one of the pioneers for harm reduction services in Thailand. They have been supporting harm reduction in the country since 2003. During that time, they have reached over 20,000 people in 20 provinces with services such as peer-led outreach, HIV testing and referral, access to sterile injecting equipment, condoms, information on safer practices, linkage to antiretroviral treatment, tuberculosis, STIs and hepatitis services, opioid-substitution treatment, overdose prevention, counseling, and support in accessing health and social services.
When addressing the framework for harm reduction policies and services, Promboon recommended that “harm reduction should not be treated only as an HIV-prevention intervention. People who use drugs may also need services related to tuberculosis, hepatitis, mental health, sexual and reproductive health, pregnancy, violence, legal assistance, employment, housing and social protection. An integrated approach is therefore essential.”
This intersectionality is key, because SRHR and harm reduction services do not exist in isolation from each other. Those accessing harm reduction also need high-quality, accessible SRHR services, and the reverse is equally true. It is essential to foster collaboration between these two fields to establish integrated pathways, making it easier for individuals to receive the comprehensive care they need.
One way that harm reduction is important to the SRHR movement is due to the way gender affects access to services, as well as the risk of HIV transmission associated with injecting equipment. According to Promboon Panitchpakdi, Executive Director of Raks Thai Foundation, “Women may also be more vulnerable to HIV, sexually transmitted infections and hepatitis because they may have less power to negotiate safer sex or safer injecting practices.”
For the SRHR movement, it is important to address these concerns by reducing barriers to accessing both SRHR and harm reduction services. Access to these essential services is often obstructed by social stigma, gender inequality, and economic factors.
To learn more about Raks Thai Foundation’s work, you can visit their website here.
