Skoll Entrepreneur(s): Mechai Viravaidya
Change(s) Addressed: Economic & Social Equity

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DESCRIPTION:

As a young economist working for the government, Mechai saw that rapid population growth in rural Thailand was making it difficult for the poor to escape from poverty. He felt the need to address the problem with a radical approach and launched the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) in 1974. The results were remarkable: The population growth rate fell from 3.2% in 1974 to 0.5% in 2005. Mechai’s efforts in population and HIV/AIDS education earned him the nickname of the “Condom King of Thailand.” Despite his past accomplishments, Mechai sees the VDP initiative as what will define his contribution toward development in Thailand.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS OF 2010

• The Village Development Partnership project currently benefits over 25,000 rural villagers throughout Thailand with 3,000 members in 43 Village Development Banks, who have utilized 25.5 Million Baht (or $US700,000) in micro-credit loans as a means of economic empowerment over the last 3 years.
• 70% of PDA’s funding comes from 15 different Social Enterprises, including the popular restaurant chain Cabbages and Condoms and the newly-launched Business for Rural Education and Development Co. Ltd. (BREAD), which is selling rice grown around PDA’s Lamplaimat Pattana Primary and Secondary Schools to a nation-wide market.
• PDA’s unique approach to reproductive health over the past 35 years resulted in Thailand’s population growth rate declining from 3.2 percent in 1974 to 0.5 percent in 2005, and, according to a World Bank study, an estimated 7.7 million lives were saved as a result of PDA’s HIV prevention campaigns.