Anutin Pledges to Improve Housing, Health Rights After P-Move Petition
On World Habitat Day, Thai officials received a petition from the P-Move movement demanding stronger housing and health rights. Anutin Charnvirakul, who serves as both Prime Minister and Interior Minister, promised not to reduce public health benefits and said any changes would aim to improve coverage and quality. He dismissed rumors of benefit cuts as baseless.
At 11:30 a.m. on October 5, 2069 (2026 CE), at Gate 5 of the Government House on Ratchadamnoen Road, Anutin Charnvirakul, who holds the dual role of Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, appeared alongside Deputy Prime Minister Songsak Thongsi and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchat Chomklin to receive a letter from the People’s Movement for a Just Society (P-Move). The movement was represented by its chairman, Jumlong Nuphan.
The handover coincided with World Habitat Day 2069. Jumlong Nuphan read a statement compiled from twelve organizations representing villages and landless communities. The statement urged the government to recognize the importance of housing, to draft a new constitution that enshrines housing as a fundamental right for everyone, and to protect the right to healthcare without amending the national health security law. It also called for solutions to housing problems in communities such as Khlong Toey and on State Railway of Thailand land, among others.
Anutin responded, saying that since his tenure as Minister of Public Health and chairman of the National Health Security Office, he has never cut public health benefits. Any adjustments would aim to improve coverage, expand the range of diseases covered, raise treatment quality, and increase benefits for the elderly. He dismissed rumors that his administration would reduce or eliminate benefits, calling them baseless and nonsensical. He stressed that every year’s budget process begins with the question of whether there is sufficient funding to look after people’s health.
