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The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand

Volume XVI-2024 (Special Issue)

and to confer the Prince Mahidol Award on individual(s) or institution(s) for outstanding

performance and/or research in the field of medicine for the benefit of mankind and in the
field of public health for the sake of the well-being of the people. The Prince Mahidol

Award Laureates will attend the royal ceremony to receive the awards from the king or royal
representative, in addition to a royal dinner to honor their success. They will also give

honorable lectures at Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University. Prince Mahidol
Award conference takes place yearly and scholarships will be given to recipients who won

the Prince Mahidol Award Youth Program. To support the young generations with passion in
medicine in the footsteps of Prince Mahidol, the recipients of the program will receive

scholarships to support their training, either abroad or in Thailand for 1 year. This period will
count towards the work requirement after graduation as well. (Prince Mahidol Award Foundation

under the royal patronage, 2024)
In the past 32 years, 95 individuals and 2 institutions have received Prince Mahidol Awards

(PMA). Among them, 2 PMA laureates in public health, one in 2001 and the other in 2005,
and 2 PMA laureates in medicine in 2021 eventually received Nobel prizes. Moreover,

2 Thai physicians received PMA in medicine in 1996 for their works in dengue hemorrhagic
fever – Professor Emeritus Dr. Prasong Tuchinda and Dr. Suchitra Nimmannitya–and 2 more

Thais received PMA in public health in 2009 for their works in the promotion of condom usage
to control HIV infection and family planning–Dr. Wiwat Rojanapithayakorn and Mr. Mechai

Viravaidya. (Prince Mahidol Award Founation under the royal patronage, 2024) All aforementioned
activities of the foundation support the advancement of medicine and public health in Thailand

that are well recognized at the international level.

Princess Srinagarindra Award Foundation under the Royal Patronage

Princess Galyani Vadhana was the president of the Princess Srinagarindra Award Foundation

under the Royal Patronage from 19 October 2000 to 2007, when Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
assumed the position and has been there till present. The foundation gives a yearly award to

the recipient who works in nursing or midwifery around the world with distinguished work at
the national or international levels that promote public health and people’s quality of life.

(Nursing Council of Thailand, 2019)

King Rama X and the advancement of medicine and public health in Thailand

After the coronation ceremony of King Rama X on 4 May 2019, the king donated a sum

of 2,407,144,487.59 Bahts from the money collected during the royal funeral of King Rama IX

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