U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Thailand -- The
United States government donated public health supplies including handwashing stations and personal protective equipment valued at $14,500 USD (approximately 450,000 THB) on July 20 to support Mae Fah Luang University’s effort to assist vulnerable migrant and ethnic communities in Chiang Rai in response to the spread of COVID-19. The U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai donated equipment and materials supplied by the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group Thailand (JUSMAGTHAI).

The donation will protect the health of people throughout northern Thailand and is the result of the close collaboration between the U.S. Consulate General Chiang Mai and Mae Fah Luang University’s School of Social Innovation’s Area-based-Social Innovation Research Center (Ab-SIRC). Ab-SIRC and its partners formed the Aid Coordination Center for Migrant Workers in Chiang Rai to provide humanitarian assistance and personal protective equipment for nearly 29,000 migrant workers and members of ethnic communities in Chiang Rai during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The project also works to ensure this vulnerable population has access to Thailand’s COVID-19 prevention measures.

“It is our pleasure to assist Mae Fah Luang University in this important initiative. We are honored to continue the strong and enduring partnership between the United States and Thailand through this public health collaboration,” said U.S. Consul General Sean K. O’Neill. “As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai this year, we look back on our decades of work to make Americans and Thais healthier, safer, and more prosperous. This donation is our latest effort to contribute to the health, safety and prosperity of Thai and international communities throughout northern Thailand.”