Pikun Thong Royal Development Project in Narathiwat province is known for its achievements in soil development and conservation for agricultural use -- part of an instrument of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej to alleviate poverty among poor villagers in the faraway province.
Yet this royal project initiated by the late monarch in 1981 has also been playing a major role in helping Thailand fight elephantiasis.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) last month praised the country for its achievements in fighting elephantiasis. Thailand, Sri Lanka and Maldives are among countries seen as winning the war against this mosquito-borne disease, according to Suwich Thammapalo, director of Disease Prevention & Control Centre 12, overseeing the deep South provinces.
Dr Suwich has been working with the medical team of the Pikun Thong Royal Development Project for over two decades. The WHO's praise came after the rate of the disease in Narathiwat -- the province with the highest rate of elephantiasis -- significantly reduced, with doctors bringing the disease under control for the first time.
On the same trip pictured above, King Bhumibol, accompanied by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, inspects the irrigation project at Ban Pa Dae Gue Yae dike in Narathiwat's Bacho district.
Once common in the northern and western border with Myanmar and even parts of the Central region, the disease has been brought under control over the past few decades thanks to persistent and vigilant campaigns by the Ministry of Health and local health officials.
Narathiwat has been a tough case. Dense forest and peat swamps have provided the perfect breeding ground for Brugia malayi, a local mosquito type that is the carrier of the disease. But the major obstacle is political unrest, which the restive south has suffered for decades. Surging violent attacks over the last decade have hampered access to treatment for the local community, said Dr Suwich.
But this royal project provided a solution. The late monarch had ordered medical staff in the province to help treat elephantiasis after being briefed by Dr Erb Na Bangchang about the dire situation in the province.
The Pikun Thong Royal Development Study Centre is one among six royal projects across the country that the late King created for ecological studies and conservation, which are also fighting diseases. Being a royal project also helped medical teams to fight the disease. Locals who tend to mistrust local officials were more co-operative when they learned it was a royal project.
"Local people in the South might have been divided in some areas, but they have been united in their loyalty and love for the monarchy. They know in their hearts that the late King had been trying to help them overcome poverty. They have seen the late King work tirelessly for decades to improve the livelihood of poor people and to protect the environment. So, they opened their arms and co-operated when we said we were part of a royal project," said Dr Suwich.
Since 1987, local media staff attached to the royal project managed to travel to local communities and launch projects and workshops to train locals to take care of themselves and ward off diseases. Among the campaigns is one that teaches local villagers living around vulnerable areas to draw blood samples and use disease diagnosis kits.
Another achievement of this royal project is the discovery that cats are agents of spreading the disease as felines were found to carry parasites that cause elephantiasis. Local communities were taught to draw blood samples and diagnose the disease in cats. Felines found with the parasite will be given Ivermectin, a medicine that can treat this parasite.
Dr Suwich praised the late monarch's vision. "When the late King was told about the threat of this disease, he immediately created a medical service task force to solve the problem. And he did not stop at elephantiasis. He ordered us to take care of the overall health problems in the community. He paid attention to little details that lead to diseases such as malnutrition among children and parasites which have been major causes of diseases in the province. He looked at the problem in a holistic way and came up with solutions to solve the problems at the root ... that was the genius of the late King Bhumibol."
Dr Suwich said he has been proud to serve the late King by working for the project.
The late monarch, he said, has been his inspiration to work for poor people -- a task he will carry on for the rest of his life.
