What about YOPI?

The floods have been with us for almost three months and many relief agencies both public and private have come to the rescue. As in any kind of disaster, man-made or natural, the first groups of people who need help the most are the very young, the old, the pregnant and the incapacitated (or YOPI, for short). However, not a single expert has used this term. It dawns on me that Thailand might not have a real expert on disaster prevention and mitigation at all, since they don’t know this jargon, which is frequently used by international experts!

Joe Sirijaraya, PhD

Post Bag, Bangkok Post, 1 November 2011