On January 21-22, 2019, the project to develop an alternative service network for adolescents and women with unplanned pregnancies, organized by the Bureau of Reproductive Health, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, with budget support from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), held a meeting for the Southern region’s Safe Abortion Referral Network (RSA) at the Hansa JB Hotel, Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province.
The goal was to expand the concept and share experiences, as well as to build a working network between providing alternative counseling services, continuing pregnancies, and referring accessible abortion services within the Southern provincial network. This aims to facilitate systematic collaboration and smooth referrals. There were 80 participants, including public health personnel, doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and academics from the Southern region, the unplanned pregnancy counseling hotline 1663, project working group, and project advisors. The welcome speech was given by Dr. Chatchawan Korsakul (RSA Doctor 37) from Hat Yai Hospital, Songkhla Province, a representative of the Southern RSA coordinators, who opened the meeting. A lecture on the progress of the enforcement of the Prevention and Solution of the Adolescent Pregnancy Act, B.E. 2559, which supports Safe abortion work, was given by Dr. Kittipong Saejeng, Director of the Bureau of Reproductive Health, Department of Health.
The meeting resulted in the exchange of experiences, service development guidelines, and referral coordination according to choices. The RSA volunteer network (Referral system for Safe Abortion) increased by 12 members, consisting of 3 doctors and 9 multidisciplinary professionals. Pins were given to new members as a memento by Dr. Chatchawan Korsakul, Southern RSA volunteer network coordinator.
The meeting was broadcast live on the Facebook fanpage: RSATHAI on the topic of safe abortion using Mifepristone and Misoprostol packaged together (Medabon®) and Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thanapan Chubun, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University. Watch the replay at: https://rsathai.org/en/contents/25849