WHO Director-General Urges Thailand to Maintain SSF Financial Stability and Tobacco-Alcohol Taxes

Key summary

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), sent an open letter dated October 14, 2026, to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul regarding public health policy sustainability. The WHO emphasized preserving the financial stability of the Office of the Health Promotion and Development Fund (SSF) and maintaining strict taxes on tobacco and alcohol to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Dr. Tedros highlighted Thailand's role as a regional leader in health promotion, noting that SSF is an internationally recognized innovative model that won the 2021 Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion. He advised against changes to funding structures that could reduce tax burdens on harmful products, citing the WHO's '3 by 35 Initiative' which supports increasing taxes on health-risk products by 2038. Prof. Dr. Piya Mit Sri Thara, Rector of Mahidol University, supported these views, arguing that altering SSF funding would expose health initiatives to political influence and lobbying from tobacco and alcohol producers, potentially weakening public health efforts.