Despite the fact that people in the farming villages of Thailand are suffering from various diseases, there have been few who are qualified enough or who will provide medical services or health care until recently. As dean of the medical faculty at Khon Kaen University, Professor Kawee Tungsubutra initiated several new procedures to benefit farming villages. Procedures in selecting medical students were revised, as well as curricula in the medical faculty. The professor wished to develop a different type of doctor, one who does not regard medical services as merely a profession that benefits oneself; he wanted to train doctors who would respond to underprivileged patients. He launched an intensive training course for volunteer health workers (VHW) who could be compared with Chinese barefoot doctors. The role of the VHW is transitional; once qualified doctors are posted in every farming village of the future, there will be no need for them. The heart of the VHW project is not the training aspect but the follow-up, evaluation, maintenance and referral system. There is also an urgent need for family planning in the villages. The general poor health is caused by the combined factors of poverty, malnutrition, and lack of education. Infant mortality is high due to illness caused by malnutrition and medical ignorance. In order to improve educational conditions in the villages, a promotion campaign to establish a day care center for preschool children in conjunction with the VHW training program was established. A preschool teacher training course included information concerning proper nutrition for children, well-balanced cooking and basic principles of child education. The preschool teachers who received this training are now in over 100 day care centers in the villages.

来源：JOICFP review 1983 年 6期