PDA meaning in Associations & Organizations ?

The Population and Community Development Association (PDA) is a non-governmental organization in Thailand. Its goal is to reduce poverty through both development initiatives and family planning programs. Originally called the Community-Based Family Planning Service, it was founded by Mechai Viravaidya in 1974. In the early 1970s, Viravaidya was the Minister of Industry but became frustrated with the government's inability to implement a national family planning policy. In his work with the government, he identified a direct correlation between Thailand's poverty and population growth. His immediate concern was the high population growth rate of 3.2%, which equated to approximately seven children per family. The population growth rate was an increasing concern for Thailand and Mechai Viravaidya because high growth rates restricted Thailand's ability to provide for its entire population and improve living conditions. By 2011, Thailand's population growth rate was only 0.566%. A sharp reduction in poverty has followed upon the reduction in family size, a reduction which can in significant part be attributed to the influence and programs of the PDA.

The Population and Community Development Association has concentrated on reaching rural towns and villages with family planning and development programs. It has operated on the belief that “local people are best suited to shape and sustain their own development.” Most of its programs empower communities on a micro level, utilizing a “bottom up” approach. As of 2009, the PDA had 18 regional centers which ran development programs in one-third of the country. Today, the organization consists of over 800 employees and 12,000 volunteers and is one of Thailand's most expansive and diverse NGOs.

Initially, the PDA sought to reduce population growth by focusing on efforts both to combat child mortality and to encourage family planning. Viravaidya deduced that family planning would not be widely adopted in Thailand if children did not survive. Therefore, his solution to controlling population growth, which was at 3.3%, was to target maternal and child healthcare. At the same time, the PDA made various methods of birth control accessible to rural populations. The PDA discovered that birth control pills were used by only 20% of the population because getting them required access to medical personnel. To target the remaining 80% of the country, the PDA invested in multiple initiatives - including the popularization of free condoms, increased access to birth control, incentives for women to not become pregnant, and slogans to encourage smaller families.

The Thai family planning programs met notable success. By 2015, total fertility had dropped to 1.5 children per woman. Following on the drop in unwanted fertility, the poverty rate dropped sharply; from 32.4% in 2003 10.9% in 2013.