Switzerland has a vital role to play in global health, especially in the world’s poorest countries. Indisputably the global capital for health and humanitarian work, its political neutrality, central European location, economic stability, and quality of life have helped foster a dense network of UN agencies, NGOs, and private sector leaders. Geneva alone plays home to the World Health Organisation (WHO), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); Gavi, the vaccine alliance; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS); and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), to name but six.
This is bolstered by a pharmaceutical industry that is one of Europe’s leading exporters and is stepping up to the plate on vaccine and infectious disease medicine access, as well as a regulator deeply embedded in global expertise sharing networks. With global development spending already slumping and a second Trump term in the US set to complicate the picture further, Switzerland may have an even greater role to play in the coming years.
Collaboration, Research & Learning
Three hours away from Geneva in Basel, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) has long leveraged its proximity to the headquarters of pharma giants like Novartis and Roche, as well as the Canton’s globally renowned universities, to drive healthcare change in the Global South.
“Collaboration with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has been at the core of our mission since our founding in 1943,” says the Institute’s director, Jürg Utzinger. “We work in close partnership with these countries to address global health challenges, which can only be effectively tackled through collaboration that is based on mutual trust.”
“A pertinent example is the recent partnership between Basel and Yopougon, the most populous commune in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d’Ivoire. Over the past four years, Basel fostered a social, cultural and health engagement with Yopougon. This collaboration culminated in the opening of a new health centre, supported by the Canton of Basel-Stadt and facilitated by Swiss TPH through our long-standing partnership with the Centre Suisse de Recherche Scientifique en Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS). This health centre not only provides essential primary healthcare but also serves as a hub for research, including a recent project on sickle cell disease initiated by Novartis.”
Swiss TPH has developed clinical decision support systems, transforming cumbersome paperwork into accessible digital tools. “Now, instead of relying on manual, time-consuming processes, healthcare providers can use algorithms on tablets to quickly assess symptoms, determine necessary tests and reduce unnecessary treatments,” explains Utzinger. “This has led to a reduction in antibiotic prescriptions by as much as 80 percent and is therefore a crucial weapon in the growing yet silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance.”
Utzinger highlights how Swiss TPH is playing a role in shaping health in Africa on an individual – as well as institutional – basis. “The current Minister of Health in Rwanda and the newly appointed Minister of Health and Social Action in Senegal both completed part of their education at Swiss TPH and the University of Basel,” he notes. “They have returned to their respective countries, where they are now instrumental in shaping their national health policies.”
Switzerland’s leading academic institutions are also fully engaged internationally. The University of Zurich, for its part, has been working with global partners around the ‘One Health’ concept. As Dean of UZH’s Medical Faculty Frank Rühli explains, “This is an initiative which emphasises the interconnections between human, animal, and environmental health and we are actively working with partners from Sub-Saharan Africa and India to promote One Health academically. UZH has a Global Affairs Office that facilitates international relationships through memoranda of understanding with various institutes and much of this collaboration occurs at an individual level, where faculty members hold honorary professorships and engage in exchange programs.”
Rühli adds, “I believe there is much to learn from one another, especially by looking to our peers at similar or higher standards. These exchanges enrich both our scientific endeavours and governance practices.”
Pharma Stepping Up
Switzerland’s pharmaceutical industry is also a key contributor to global health, as demonstrated by its pharmaceutical exports, which reached EUR 97.256 billion in 2022. This makes Switzerland the third-largest exporter among European nations, according to data from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA). It can also be seen in the access initiatives being taken up by its leading companies. Novartis, for example, was recently ranked first in the 2024 Access to Medicines Index thanks to its pipeline across non-communicable diseases and priority high-burden diseases such as malaria, Chagas disease, and dengue as well as its widespread access strategies for late-stage pipeline candidates.
While Roche fared less well in the 2024 ATMI in 11th position, the firm did have an important part in lifting the world from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/2021. This came amid a rapid shift to vaccine production within Switzerland to supply global demand, as René Buholzer, CEO of trade body Interpharma outlines. “At the outset of COVID, Switzerland was criticized for not having a major vaccine producer, but within a year and a half, we became the fifth largest global vaccine producer and a key player in the global pandemic response. This shift was due to the strength of our R&D and manufacturing platforms. Companies like Roche and Lonza played pivotal roles, with Roche leading in diagnostics and Lonza manufacturing the Moderna vaccine.”
A Regulatory Leader
The country’s drug regulator Swissmedic also sees itself as having a global role, sharing its expertise with regulatory authorities in developing countries via the Marketing Authorization for Global Health Products (MAGHP) procedure.
“The MAGHP initiative enables Swissmedic to collaborate with regulatory authorities in LMICs by sharing expertise and assessing medicines targeting high-burden diseases,” says Swissmedic Executive Director Raimund Bruhin. “We invite these authorities to participate in the assessment of medicines, especially those targeting diseases that disproportionately affect the Global South. The goal is to promote international standards and support these countries in building their own regulatory capacities.”
Bruhin continues, “We are also supporting the development of an African Medicines Agency (AMA), similar to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), but for African countries. This commitment helps African and Asian countries establish robust regulatory systems, allowing them to meet high international standards, ensuring safety and quality in the therapeutic products markets.”
Facing Down Challenges
Building bridges with poorer nations via education, technological tools, or access initiatives, is – in itself – an admirable goal. It not only benefits the donor country’s institutions on a reputational level, but helps create a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. However, in an increasingly polarised, complex, and insular planet, engaging globally is more difficult than ever.
“Securing funding is increasingly challenging,” says Utzinger. “The global landscape is fraught with concurrent crises—wars, climate change, and food insecurity—all of which compete for limited resources.”
He concludes, “Despite these challenges, it is imperative to maintain strong, long-term partnerships with LMICs. Only through sustained cooperation can we effectively address the profound health challenges that these regions face.”
