Gesundheit in der internationalen Zusammenarbeit der Schweiz wird gestärkt

Medicus Mundi Schweiz (MMS) hat ausführlich Stellung zur Botschaft über die internationale Zusammenarbeit 2025-2028 genommen. Das Netzwerk begrüsst grundsätzlich, dass Gesundheit in den Jahren 2025-2028 ein thematischer Schwerpunkt sein soll. Damit dies erfolgreich umgesetzt werden kann, sollte Gesundheit strategisch besser in die Gesamtstrategie eingebettet werden. Sorgen macht sich MMS insbesondere über das geringe finanzielle Budget, welches zur Umsetzung der Botschaft vorgesehen sind. Die Unterstützung der Ukraine für die humanitäre Hilfe und den Wiederaufbau sieht MMS als Generationenaufgabe. Deshalb schlägt MMS vor, dass die dafür notwendigen finanziellen Mitteln als ausserordentliche Finanzierung aus dem Bundeshaushalt bereitgestellt werden. ​

• Stellungnahme MMS

"Am 11. September 2023 hatten unsere Gäste die Gelegenheit, das einzigartige Werk «All of us!» des französisch-schweizerischen Künstlers Saype im Rahmen einer privaten Vernissage zum ersten Mal zu sehen. Rückblick auf die Ansprachen unseres Präsidenten Christophe Wilhelm und unserer Kommunikations- und Medienverantwortlichen Marie Bro sowie von Alfonso Gomez, Bürgermeister der Stadt Genf, Nathalie Fontanet, Vizepräsidentin des Staatsrats der Republik und des Kantons Genf, und Saype. Saype schafft weltweit vergängliche und umweltverträgliche Fresken, die die Menschen und die Gesellschaft ansprechen und dabei die Auswirkungen auf die Natur so gering wie möglich halten sollen. Er hat unsere Einladung angenommen, ein Werk zu schaffen, für das wir gemeinsam eine starke visuelle Botschaft für unseren Kampf mit Broken Chair, unserem Sprachrohr für die Opfer kriegerischer Gewalt, entwickelt haben."

• Handicap International

"In today’s interconnected world marked by complex challenges, looking back serves as a compass for charting the way forward. As we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), it is an opportune moment to reflect on our journey. Join me as I delve into one notable aspect of our history: the research and development (R&D) of new drugs for tropical diseases."

• Swiss TPH

"The new Basel Center for Health Economics brings together experts in economics and medicine to conduct innovative research and teaching on pressing issues facing the health care sector today. The center will focus on a wide range of topics, including the economics of health insurance, and of disease prevention and treatment, the allocation of health care resources, and the impact of health policies on patients and populations."

• Inauguration of the Basel Center for Health Economics (Swiss TPH LinkedIn post)
• Household Economics and Health Systems Research Unit at Swiss TPH
• Basel Center for Health Economics

"Boost your career with our courses in Health Care and Management. Whether you complete the 14-week Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) in Health Care and Management: From Research to Implementation or individual modules as a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS), you will be equipped with the core competences to understand complex health challenges and address them through collaborative interventions. The DAS HCM also serves as the core course for the tropEd network, the European Network for Education in International Health, and is mandatory for those who wish to pursue a Master of Advanced Studies International Health (MAS IH). We look forward to connect with you soon!"

• Swiss TPH

In Ländern auf der ganzen Welt verstärkt sich der Widerstand gegen sexuelle und reproduktive Rechte und konservative, rechte und religiös-fundamentalistische Kreise greifen frontal die Errungenschaften der Frauenbewegung und der LGBTQIA+-Gemeinschaften an. Seien es die Einschränkungen des Rechts auf sichere Abtreibungen oder der Angriff auf die körperliche Autonomie von Frauen sowie die Diskriminierung der LGBTQIA+-Gemeinschaften, sie alle stellen Verstösse gegen die Menschenrechte dar, gefährden den sozialen Frieden und haben schwerwiegende gesundheitliche Folgen für die Betroffenen. An der diesjährigen Fachtagung des Netzwerkes Medicus Mundi Schweiz haben sich die Expert:innen aus Europa, dem Senegal und Zimbabwe mit den Folgen des konservativen Aktivismus auf die sexuellen und reproduktiven Rechte auseinandergesetzt und gemeinsam mit den Teilnehmenden diskutiert, welche Strategien notwendig sind, um der Anti-Gender-Bewegung erfolgreich zu begegnen. Lesen Sie in dieser MMS-Bulletin-Ausgabe, warum ein starkes internationales Engagement notwendig ist.

• MMS Bulletin

Staffel 6 des MMS-Podcasts "Gesundheit für alle" porträtiert Menschen, die im Bereich der sexuellen Gesundheit und der sexuellen Rechte arbeiten und gegen die wachsende Bewegung der Anti-SRHR- und Anti-Gender-Bewegung kämpfen, die nicht nur in Europa, sondern weltweit zu beobachten ist. In dieser Staffel werden Strategien aufgezeigt, wie man diesen Bewegungen entgegenwirken kann.

• Episode 1 with Neil Datta: Anti-gender movements on the rise?
• Episode 2 with Fatou M. Diatta: Also in Senegal sexual rights are more and more under pressure
• Episode 3 with Justyna Wydrzyńska: Tireless fight for access to safe abortion

"This advocacy roadmap outlines concrete steps to sustain the advocacy ecosystem in support of the delivery of the core and contributive objectives set out in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) Strategy for 2023-2028, Fighting Pandemics and Building a Healthier and More Equitable World. The Political and Civil Society Advocacy (PCSA) Team will lead the implementation of the roadmap, in close collaboration with teams from across the Secretariat will take to sustain the advocacy ecosystem in support of the delivery of the core and contributive objectives in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s 2023-2028 Strategy: Fighting Pandemics and Building a Healthier and More Equitable World."

• The Global Fund

"Three key organizations involved in preventing and responding to HIV in South Africa – AIDS Foundation of South Africa, Beyond Zero, and Networking HIV & AIDS Community of Southern Africa – have placed an initial order of 16,000 dapivirine vaginal rings for HIV prevention with the support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund). (...) The introduction of the PrEP ring in South Africa will expand options for women beyond oral PrEP, which is often unable to meet the unique needs of all individuals who want to use it. Some people may choose not to use oral PrEP because they struggle with adherence or prefer to use a more discreet option. Increasing HIV prevention options, like the PrEP ring, is a key demand of advocacy groups and a core component to the HIV Prevention Choice Manifesto for Women and Girls in Africa published earlier this month."

• The Global Fund

"Gender equality, including equal rights and equal access to health services, are critical to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and leaving no one behind. However, UHC2030’s state of UHC commitment review found that UHC processes are still gender-blind, and that there is a lack of commitment towards increasing women’s representation in health and political leadership."

• UHC2030

Leider wird es wohl auch in diesem Jahr nichts mit der Hoffnung, dass es sich lohnt, Schlüsselthemen der internationalen Gesundheitspolitik durch eine gemeinsame Erklärung der Staats- und Regierungschefs voranzubringen... Ein nüchterner Ausblick auf das „High-Level-Meeting on Universal Health Coverage" im Rahmen der UNO-Generalversammlung 2023.

• Medicus Mundi Schweiz

"Vor der Sommerpause schickte der Bundesrat drei für nachhaltige Entwicklung zentrale Strategien in die Vernehmlassung. Er verpasst darin die Chance, die Nachhaltigkeitspolitik aktiv zu gestalten. Die Plattform Agenda 2030 hat sich an allen drei Vernehmlassungen beteiligt. Sie fordert in allen Bereichen eine Erhöhung der Mittel und eine konsequente Ausrichtung an den 17 Zielen für nachhaltige Entwicklung der Agenda 2030."

• Plattform Agenda 2030

"The UN SDGs will only improve human health if they are accompanied by systemic change that addresses global power imbalances. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were born at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. The objective of the conference was to produce a set of universal goals that meet the urgent environmental, political and economic challenges facing the world. By September 2015, all UN member states had adopted ‘Transforming the World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ and the associated 17 SDGs. In this time of polycrisis, where global crises occur simultaneously, any renewed SDGs need to be courageous, bold and reflective. SDG targets can only be met through deliberative steps for systemic change that rebalance power and address underlying inequities. Fundamental transformation in leadership, institutions and nations is needed for a flourishing, healthy and safe future for all, not just the privileged few."

• nature

"The world is off track to make significant progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) (SDG target 3.8) by 2030 as improvements to health services coverage have stagnated since 2015, and the proportion of the population that faced catastrophic levels of out-of-pocket (OOP) health spending has increased." (...) This 2023 UHC Global Monitoring Report is being released on the eve of the High-Level Meeting on UHC at the 78th United Nations General Assembly, reflecting the vital role of national political commitment in the pursuit of UHC. Achieving UHC is no easy feat, but with concrete and coordinated actions, countries can create the conditions in which the right to health is ensured, upheld, and respected for everyone."

• World Health Organization

"The UN High Level Meeting on “Universal health coverage: expanding our ambition for health and well-being in a post-COVID world” took place on 21 September 2023 in New York. (...) During the meeting, Member States unanimously recognized that universal health coverage (UHC) is fundamental to achieving all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (...). But more important than recommitment is action. “The outcome of a high-level meeting alone is not enough to deliver on our commitments to protect and improve rights and access to health services for all, especially girls, women, sexual and gender diverse people and many other groups in vulnerable circumstances” said the Co-Chairs of the UHC2030 Steering Committee in their statement released after the meeting."

• UHC2030

"World leaders at the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis have approved a Political Declaration with ambitious new targets for the next five years to advance the global efforts towards ending the TB epidemic. The targets include reaching 90% of people with TB prevention and care services, using a WHO-recommended rapid test as the first method of diagnosing TB; providing social benefit packages to all people with TB; licensing at least one new TB vaccine; and closing funding gaps for TB implementation and research by 2027."

• World Health Organization
• Political Declaration September 2023

"The vaccine has been developed by the University of Oxford and is only the second malaria vaccine to be developed. Malaria kills mostly babies and infants, and has been one of the biggest scourges on humanity. There are already agreements in place to manufacture more than 100 million doses a year. (...) Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, said: "This second vaccine holds real potential to close the huge demand-and-supply gap."

• BBC

"European health systems, among the best-funded and most equitable in the world, face a barrage of threats to their long-term stability, highlighting the difficulty of achieving and maintaining universal health coverage even in the world’s wealthiest regions. (...) A rapidly ageing population, growing healthcare worker shortages, underinvestment in health systems and external shocks such as climate change and inflation driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine are putting Europe’s healthcare systems through a battery of stress tests as the bloc looks to move on from the COVID-19 pandemic."

• Health Policy Watch

"In his opening speech of the World Health Summit in October 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General called on all countries to make the needed “paradigm shift, recognizing that health starts not in hospitals and clinics, but in homes, streets, schools and workplaces.” To support this paradigm shift, WHO has developed an Urban Health Research Agenda that sets the research priorities for addressing the needs and opportunities of urban dwellers. WHO took an inclusive, multisectoral approach in developing this agenda by holding a consultative process with diverse stakeholders, including governments, civil society, funding bodies, as well as actors from outside the health sector such as urban planning, transport and housing."

• Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO)

"Today at #UNGA, world leaders have answered the call to rescue the #GlobalGoals.” So said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, last week. A sanguine conclusion. But, speaking with a friend steeped in the science of our present environmental emergency, others take a more pessimistic view. “We have 10–15 years”, he told me. “Then it’s over. There is nothing we can do.” His opinion is that the tipping points have been well and truly tipped. The planet is fast becoming uninhabitable for half the human species. We are heading, ineluctably, for a global civilisational crisis."

• The Lancet

"As lower-income countries grow ever distrustful of the global north’s climate leadership, they are looking to themselves, playing host and taking on larger roles in high-profile international convenings."

• Devex

"A long-awaited political declaration by United Nations (UN) member states on more effective pandemic preparedness and response was approved at a High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Wednesday – without the anticipated political objections raised by 11 member states including Russia in a letter to the global body earlier in the week. The declaration is a milestone insofar as it signals recognition by the world’s heads of state that pandemic threats are existential threats, much more than simply health emergencies, said Carolyn Reynolds, co-founder of the Pandemic Action Network, which has pushed for a broader approach to pandemic preparedness and response since the onset of the COVID pandemic."

• Health Policy Watch

"As the acute response to Covid-19 is coming to an end, we observe a drop in public and political attention to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Multiple other global crises, which also demand attention and put additional stress on public budgets, especially in low and middle income countries, amplify this development. But the next pandemic might be just ahead of us. Scientists forecast a growing risk of future pandemics due to population density, mobility, climate change, and biodiversity loss, making continued efforts for prevention and preparedness ever more important. There is no time for neglect."

• BMZ
• Agenda
• Speakers

"Efforts by the Cape Town-based public health law group, Health Justice Initiative to push for transparency in the COVID-19 vaccine contracts through a case brought and won against the South African government not only reveals the terms of vaccine procurement contracts and the concerning practices, but also casts a light on the nature and extent of private power in these vastly unequal negotiations at a time a grave public health emergency. This comprehensive story delves into the discrepancies in pricing, stringent confidentiality clauses, constraints on vaccine distribution, and the notable imbalance of liability and sovereignty, brought to light as a result of this milestone judgement. (...) These contracts stand as a stark testament to the disparities in the negotiations of these agreements between pharmaceutical companies and developing countries and raise several ethical and legal questions related to the issue of fairness, equity, solidarity and cooperation during a public health emergency."

• Geneva Health Files

"Belgium, which takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union in January 2024, plans to make the healthcare workforce crisis a central item on its agenda, the first time the issue will be prioritized at the highest level of EU policymaking in over a decade. “We are actively considering the health workforce and all the challenges around health workforces to be one of the main priorities of the Belgian presidency,” Lieven De Raedt, a strategic advisor on the international unit of the Belgian Federal Ministry of Health, told the European Health Forum in Gastein, Austria, on Thursday."

• Health Policy Watch

"Eliminating suffering from cancer requires action across all of society: governments, industry, academia, health-care institutions, non-profit organisations, and diverse communities. Everyone in society has a role in contributing to progress against cancer, ranging from adhering to cancer prevention approaches and working in communities to leading large organisations. In this context, women in particular bring unique and essential perspectives to every interaction, at every level of society. The Lancet Commission on women, power, and cancer presents a comprehensive, global view of how the unique difficulties that women face can limit their ability to overcome the challenges that cancer presents, both for themselves and for society overall. The Commission sheds light on important gaps in the oncology workforce, where many capable women are still held back from leadership opportunities due to long-held gender biases, workplace harassment, or lack of support or mentorship."

• The Lancet
• The Lancet Commission

" Your activities / tasks: As a Comundo co-worker, you will be part of Comundo’s country program in Zambia, ensuring that children and young people in Zambia receive a high-quality education in a safe learning environment. You will contribute to the improved funding and sustainability of Restless Development programmes that support young people to create change in their communities. This will be through strengthening the communications department, internally and externally with stakeholders and partners."

• Comundo

"La Región del Cusco en el Sur Andino peruano, se caracteriza por su diversidad cultural, climática y biológica. Lo más llamativo es la existencia de las enormes desigualdades que existen sobre los dere-chos y el acceso al agua y las tierras. En los últimos años, el Gobierno ha ido dando en concesión a grandes proyectos mineros y de infraestructura, lo que pone en riesgo el acceso al agua de las pobla-ciones del sector rural, que están consideradas entre la población pobre. Los derechos humanos al agua, los derechos de los principios del convenio 169 de la OIT, los derechos reconocidos en la misma Constitución Peruana y en otros marcos legales parecen no valer para la población rural y amazóni-ca."

• Comundo