FDA Empowers Next Generation Youth as Health Product Communication Leaders
Thailand's FDA launched its first Youth Ambassador Camp in May, training 88 young leaders from across the country to become health product communicators and combat non-communicable diseases through peer education and community outreach.
The Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is empowering a new generation of youth to become health product communication leaders and sustainably combat non-communicable diseases through the inaugural 'Oryornoi Youth Camp,' held May 20-22, 2026, under the theme 'Plant, Shape, Practice, Change.'
The FDA partnered with provincial health offices nationwide to select 88 youth representatives—one per province from all 76 provinces, plus 12 from leading Bangkok schools—to participate in the camp at Rayong Resort. The program aims to develop these young ambassadors into effective health product communicators through active learning methods, including brainstorming sessions to identify youth roles in consumer protection, and media design workshops on the theme 'Shop Smart, Use Smart, Reduce NCDs Risk' to develop modern communication skills that are easy to understand and accessible to the public.
The camp featured six learning stations including 'Truth or Cake,' 'Respectful Court,' and 'Oryornoi Quiz' to enhance critical thinking and information evaluation skills. These youth leaders will serve as key communicators of accurate health product information within schools, communities, and society.
Dr. Rungruthai Mueangprasitphon, Deputy Secretary of the FDA, revealed that the Oryornoi Youth program has long been a crucial mechanism for building awareness among youth about safe health product consumption. The agency currently operates over 20,000 Oryornoi Youth schools with approximately 400,000 rotating members annually. This inaugural Youth Ambassador Camp represents a significant step in elevating participants from 'school-level health product communicators' to 'national-level Oryornoi Youth leaders and health product communicators.'
The FDA expects Oryornoi Youth to become 'change agents' capable of communicating and driving society toward correct, appropriate, and safe health product purchasing and usage behaviors, ultimately reducing the burden of chronic non-communicable diseases. The deputy secretary emphasized that strong health product literacy among youth serves as crucial protection, helping Thai society avoid non-communicable diseases.
A major highlight was the selection of Thailand's first Youth Ambassador Oryornoi: Chanya Ming-Manee (nickname Guitar), a Grade 11 student from Triam Udom Suksa Patthanakarn School in Bangkok. Upon receiving the honor, Guitar expressed joy and pride, committing to effectively communicate accurate health product knowledge to society, particularly regarding dietary supplements and cosmetics.
