Since 2001, ThaiHealth has been working with an annual budget of about Bt2.5 billion - derived from 2 per cent of the tobacco and alcohol excise tax - and invited WHO to evaluate its efficiency, Dr Prakit Vathisathokit said.  He said that the result, submitted to ThaiHealth board yesterday, would be presented to the Cabinet in March and the WHO would make it a good model for other countries.

Edie Carrol, a WHO expert on health promotion, carried out the evaluation from August to November of 2006.

She compared ThaiHealth information with four similar organisations in Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland and found that it scored well in alliance creation, policy development and working with alliances and communities.

The organisation did a good job in marketing for social benefits and thus could push forward policies such as tobacco control, prohibition of sugar in milk powder and an anti-alcohol campaign, she said.

It also had good relations with the media and gained their participation to change people's attitudes and behaviour - compared to other countries where health news received little public attention, she added.

In two years, ThaiHealth would need to adjust its structure to cover more tasks, she said, urging it to cover health-hazard factors among the underprivileged such as unclean drinking water.

In regards to favouritism, Carrol said ThaiHealth should ensure better understanding about the regulations regarding this matter. To prevent political interference, she urged ThaiHealth to be clear which project was proposed by a politician, so if a project was approved, it was because of its own benefits to society, not because of the politician's influence.

Dr Prakit said ThaiHealth had spent 6 per cent of its budget for marketing and, compared to other schemes, its results in promoting health and tackling social issues made it very worthwhile.

ThaiHealth would soon assist the

setting up of similar organisations in Shanghai, Mongolia and the Philippines, he said.