(AseanAll) — On January 29, 2026, at the Thai Government House, Prof. Dr. Apichat Asavamongkolkul, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, in his capacity as Vice President of the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation under the Royal Patronage, led 2 Prince Mahidol Award 2025 laureates, namely, Dr. Terry Dean King, M.D., and Prof. Walter C. Willett, MD, MPH, Dr.P.H., to pay a courtesy call on Thai Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul.
The Prime Minister congratulated the Prince Mahidol Award 2025 laureates, and commended their major contributions to the world of medical sciences and public health, which have greatly benefited and uplift quality of lives of people across the globe. This is in line with Thailand’s priority on promoting medical knowledge and cooperation. Prince Mahidol, who himself was a physician, laid the foundation for Thai modern medicine and public health system, based on which the country’s universal health coverage system has continually been developed to cover all citizens throughout their entire life cycle.
Dr. Terry Dean King commended the success of Thailand’s public health system, a model from which many countries can learn. He emphasized that building a strong health system requires knowledgeable and dedicated personnel as well as consistent policies. Dr. King also shared his experiences regarding health challenges resulting from modern consumption behaviors, particularly high intake of sugary and caffeinated beverages, which contribute to non-communicable diseases among youths.
Prof. Walter C. Willett also commended Thailand’s universal health coverage system to which even people at the community level can get access. He noted that preventive policies, e.g., the sugar tax and the promotion of health literacy, are key measures to reducing non-communicable diseases in the long run, and emphasized the importance of international cooperation and the role of WHO in addressing global health challenges.
They also discussed other issues of mutual interests:
The 2 Prince Mahidol Award 2025 laureates commended the capacity of Thailand’s public health system, especially COVID-19 situation management. As a former Minister of Public Health tenured during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister shared his experience that Thailand’s success in controlling the pandemic was the result of close collaboration between medical personnel, academics, and public health networks at all levels, especially the village health volunteers who played an essential role in screening, providing guidance, and caring for people in the communities. This enabled Thailand to effectively contain the outbreak and earned recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO).
With regard to public health policy and health challenges, the Prime Minister mentioned the changing global context, including demographic shifts toward an aging society, an increase of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and risks from emerging diseases. He emphasized that the Thai Government prioritizes the development of a strong, inclusive, and sustainable public health system to ensure equitable access to healthcare services for all groups of people. The Prince Mahidol Award 2025 laureates viewed that future health challenges must be addressed through the integration of academic works, public policy, and social engagement.
On international cooperation in medicine and public health, the Prime Minister highlighted Thailand’s role as part of the global public health community, and expressed the country’s readiness to collaborate with scholars and leading institutions worldwide on the exchange of knowledge, personnel, and experiences. The Prince Mahidol Award 2025 laureates affirmed their academic cooperation and support with relevant Thai agencies and expressed recognition on Thailand’s potential as a regional hub for public health and medicine.
Toward the end of the meeting, both sides came to terms on consistent exchange of international experiences as the world is swiftly evolving. The Thai Government strives to promote education and research cooperation, as well as exchange of students and academicians, to increase responsiveness capacity to future health and social challenges.
The Prince Mahidol Award was established in commemoration of is Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla and in recognition of his exemplary contribution as “The Father of Modern Medicine and Public Health of Thailand.” The awards will be conferred annually to individual(s) or institution(s) for outstanding performance and/or research in the fields of medicine and public health for the benefit of mankind. The Prince Mahidol Award 2025 were conferred to:
Doctor Terry Dean King, M.D.: His outstanding achievements in pioneering medical innovations and advancing the quality of life for patients with congenital heart diseases worldwide through the development of minimally invasive treatment technologies have benefited the health and well-being of hundreds of millions of people around the globe.
Prof. Walter C. Willett, MD, MPH, Dr.P.H.: For his invaluable contributions and groundbreaking work in nutrition research, which have profoundly influenced global health promotion and the development of public health policies for disease prevention, benefiting the health and well-being of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
