Réductions dans la coopération internationale : une mise en perspective

"Lors de sa séance du 29 janvier 2025, le Conseil fédéral a été informé de la manière dont allait être mise en œuvre la décision prise par le Parlement de réduire les dépenses en matière de coopération au développement. Le Parlement a en effet décidé fin décembre une coupe de 110 millions de francs dans le budget 2025 et une autre de 321 millions de francs dans le plan financier 2026-2028 pour les activités de la coopération au développement bilatérale et multilatérale. Cette mesure ne concerne pas les activités en lien avec l’aide humanitaire, la promotion de la paix et le soutien à l’Ukraine."

• Le Conseil fédéral

"Im Dezember hat das Parlament entschlossen, zugunsten der Armee und AHV zu sparen. Die Entwicklungshilfe muss dafür Federn lassen. Nun ist klar, wer betroffen ist. Ein Experte ist schockiert, aber nicht unbedingt wegen des Inhaltes. (...) Martin Leschhorn vom Netzwerk Medicus Mundi Schweiz bedauert diese Kürzungen und warnt vor dem Signal, das die Schweiz mit diesen Kürzungen sendet."

• bz
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"Winnie Byanyima has a lot on her plate these days — professionally and personally. In addition to running UNAIDS, where she is executive director, Byanyima has been campaigning for the release of her husband, the prominent Ugandan opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye, who is in jail and undergoing trial in a Ugandan military court. Besigye, who faces charges of treachery, could face the death penalty if convicted. He was arrested — or kidnapped, as he and Byanyima alleged — while on a trip to Kenya for the unlawful possession of ammunition and a firearm, charges that Byanyima says are politically motivated."

• Devex Davos Dispatch

"Chaque année, plus de 200 000 personnes sont diagnostiquées avec la lèpre, dont environ 15 000 enfants. Environ 6 millions de personnes vivent avec des handicaps dus à la lèpre, et le nombre de personnes touchées qui ne sont pas examinées ni diagnostiquées est élevé. C'est pourquoi les collaborateurs de FAIRMED dans nos pays de projet veillent à ce que les personnes concernées soient examinées pour détecter les signes précoces de la maladie et, si nécessaire, traitées de manière appropriée. Ils luttent en outre contre la stigmatisation largement répandue et s'engagent pour que les personnes qui vivent avec un handicap dû à la lèpre reçoivent le soutien dont elles ont besoin. C'est le cas de Bal Bahadur, 73 ans, qui vit dans les montagnes du Sindhupalchowk et a déjà perdu plusieurs orteils et doigts. Tu découvriras ici comment notre mobilisatrice de santé Pramila Raut a pris connaissance de son sort et a pu le libérer de sa plus grande peur. Lire son histoire maintenant !"

• FAIRMED

"The decline of leprosy is a public health success story. However, despite being curable, the disease is still present in more than 100 countries, with 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Today, on World NTD Day, read about the challenges of eliminating leprosy and the work of Swiss TPH and its partners in the fight against the disease. (...) Although it’s hard to spread and easily treatable, people affected by leprosy often face stigmatisation and discrimination."

• Swiss TPH

"A study by Swiss TPH, in collaboration with European research partners, provides critical insights into the interplay of air pollution, greenspace, and temperature on respiratory health. Using data from long-term cohort studies, the findings, published recently in Environment International, reveal that while improved air quality and increased greenspace benefit lung health, climate change significantly diminishes these positive effects."

• Swiss TPH

"Le Soudan du Sud est confronté à une épidémie de choléra qui ne cesse de s’aggraver. 370 personnes ont perdu la vie et plus de 20 000 personnes sont contaminées. La Croix-Rouge lance un appel urgent et se mobilise pour venir en aide à la population. La CRS, soutenue par la Confédération, met sur pied une équipe d'aide d'urgence qui sera envoyée au Soudan du Sud avec la participation de plusieurs Sociétés sœurs."

• La Croix-Rouge Suisse

""Handicap International salue le cessez-le-feu récemment conclu et appelle toutes les parties à respecter leurs engagements en faveur de la paix et de la libération les otages. Cette avancée offre la possibilité de répondre aux souffrances immenses causées par les 15 derniers mois de conflit. (...) Depuis le début de la réponse militaire israélienne, plus de 46’000 Palestiniens ont été tués, dont trois membres du personnel de notre organisation, et près de 110’000 personnes ont été blessées – dont 70% de femmes et d’enfants. Parmi les blessés, des milliers de personnes ont un handicap permanent, les bombardements incessants et le manque de soins médicaux adéquats laissant beaucoup de personnes sans traitement à long terme, sans réadaptation et sans soutien."

• Handicap International

"Nous rappelons que les années de guerre et le séisme dévastateur de 2023 ont eu des conséquences dramatiques sur la population civile syrienne. Selon nos estimations, près d’un tiers des Syriens de plus de deux ans vivent aujourd’hui avec une forme de handicap. Plus de 70 % de la population dépend de l’aide humanitaire. Par ailleurs, les infrastructures essentielles – hôpitaux, écoles, habitations – ont été largement détruites, et de nombreuses zones restent dangereusement contaminées par des mines et des munitions non explosées."

• Handicap International

"La CSSR qui soutient l'organisation Yes Theatre en Palestine depuis 2015 vous encourage à signer la pétition d’Amnesty International qui demande au Conseil fédéral et au Parlement de s’engager pour le maintien du cessez-le-feu, le renforcement de l’aide humanitaire et contre les violations des droits humains commises par toutes les parties au conflit."

• Centrale Sanitaire Suisse Romande (CSSR)

"Dans un contexte où 30 % des centres de santé sont fermés ou fonctionnent au ralenti à cause de l’insécurité, Enfants du Monde et son partenaire agissent au Burkina Faso pour renforcer la santé maternelle et néonatale. Grâce à la formation des accoucheuses villageoises et à la distribution de kits d’accouchement, les femmes enceintes peuvent donner naissance en toute sécurité, même dans les zones les plus isolées. Ce service de proximité permet non seulement de sauver des vies, mais offre aussi un soutien précieux aux familles dans des moments difficiles. En intégrant ces solutions adaptées aux besoins locaux, Enfants du Monde contribue à renforcer les systèmes de santé communautaire et à favoriser un meilleur accès aux soins dans les zones à haut risque."

• Enfants du Monde (EdM)

"Women’s Hope International hat zusammen mit Chad Innovation, der lokalen Partnerorganisation BASE und Cabinet Soupir eine App entwickelt, die Familien während der Schwangerschaft, Geburt und in der ersten Zeit mit dem Baby begleitet. Mit Bildern und Audiobotschaften in der lokalen Sprache vermittelt die App wichtige Gesundheitsinfos – verständlich und zugänglich. Sie fördert somit einen gleichberechtigten Zugang zu qualifizierten Informationen, unabhängig von Geschlecht und Herkunft."

• Women’s Hope International - Download der App

"Adam Dicko is the Director of AJCAD, an organization in Mali that, in partnership with IAMANEH Switzerland, campaigns against female genital cutting (FGC). In this interview, Adam shares how she saved her sisters from undergoing FGC. (...) Adam Dicko, when did you decide to take a stand against female genital cutting? When I was a teenager. I have seven siblings, five of whom are girls. My older sisters and I were subjected to FGC. I managed to prevent my two younger sisters from experiencing the same fate."

• IAMANEH

"A withdrawal would lead to job losses in the U.S. and would make it difficult for U.S. health officials to trace a new outbreak, which could lead to increased illnesses and deaths globally, the U.S. included, they said. Forty-three members of the U.S. Congress have asked President Donald Trump to “reevaluate” his order to withdraw from the World Health Organization, arguing the United States “should not cede [its] title” as a global health leader. In the letter, the officials touted the beneficial relationship between the U.S. and WHO, and the risks the withdrawal poses on the health of Americans as well as on the gains the world has made against many diseases, including polio eradication."

• Devex

"The World Health Organization (WHO) chief asked global leaders to pressure the US to reverse President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the UN health agency, which will squeeze health programmes in Europe and beyond. But countries also pressed WHO at a key budget meeting last Wednesday about how it might cope with the exit of its biggest donor, according to internal meeting materials obtained by The Associated Press. A German envoy, Bjorn Kummel, warned that “the roof is on fire, and we need to stop the fire as soon as possible”."

• EuroNews

"The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has approved an “Emergency Humanitarian Waiver”, which will allow people to continue accessing HIV treatment funded by the US across 55 countries worldwide. More than 20 million people living with HIV, representing two-thirds of all people living with HIV receiving treatment globally, are directly supported by the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) - the world’s leading HIV initiative."

• UNAIDS

"Non-governmental organisations that receive US government funds across a range of sectors – including HIV, LGBTQ support and climate change – have been told to cease operations immediately. Over the past two days, letters have been sent to US grant recipients following a “stop-work order” issued late Friday by the US State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance. While US President Donald Trump’s executive order on 20 January ushered in a 90-day pause on disbursements of foreign aid, the “stop-work order” approved by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio four days later has unexpectedly ordered all current work to stop immediately."

• Health Policy Watch

"The announcement by US President Donald Trump that the USA will withdraw from WHO will leave both a large financial gap and a political power vacuum in global health. The disruption endangers human lives worldwide because it is not only about leaving a bureaucratic apparatus—as WHO opponents like to portray the UN agency2—but it is also about an organisation that implements concrete health programmes with many partners at country level worldwide, develops important standards and normative guidelines, champions health equity, and ensures greater health security globally. But the rational arguments of health advocates to retain US membership of WHO take us only so far. It is a much larger picture that needs to be considered, which takes us beyond the present global health debate."

• The Lancet

"(...) The sudden freeze on official development assistance and the accompanying stop-work order for existing grants and programmes will have devastating consequences. In low-income countries many people depend on US supported programmes for access to health services and life-saving medications. PEPFAR, for example, has provided 20.6 million people with access to HIV-medication in 2023 alone. Trumps decision shocked the world: clinics stopped issuing HIV medications, even though they were laying on the shelf. Then, on Wednesday 29 January, a waiver was anounced, allowing for the distribution of HIV medications, but leaving uncertainty about preventive drugs and other PEPFAR services."

• Wemos

"Finances will dominate the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 156th executive board meeting, which begins on Monday (3 February) under the shadow of the withdrawal of the United States, the body’s biggest member state. As the US has to give a year’s notice of its withdrawal from WHO, it is still technically a member until January 2026 and has a seat on the 34-person board."

• Health Policy Watch

"As president of the United States, Donald Trump has the power to affect lives and healthcare well beyond his country’s borders. Since Trump returned to power this month, his reinstatement of the “global gag rule”12 has triggered the end of funding for any non-US based global health and development organisation that provides or advocates abortion care. As the single largest funder of international aid, the US plays a powerful role in shaping the global health landscape—and women’s and girls’ lives are being used as pawns in this political game. My work overseeing reproductive health programmes in Africa for MSI Reproductive Choices gives me an understanding of the profound consequences that this will have on communities that Trump will never set foot in."

• British Medical Journal (bmj)

"A coalition of leading African civil society groups called on the World Bank to exit its investments in for-profit hospitals, following a Bloomberg News investigation that found some facilities backed by the fund detained patients for unpaid bills and denied others emergency care until they demonstrated an ability to pay. Citing Bloomberg’s findings, the Africa Public Services coalition said the World Bank’s ongoing support for private hospitals was having a “devastating impact” on low-income patients and demanded that the fund investigate the practices at the facilities that it finances. The open letter was signed by 53 public service groups and individuals from across the region, including the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights in Uganda and Oxfam."

• Bloomberg

Cet article examine le rôle des partenariats public-privé (PPP) dans le domaine de la santé globale et discute à la fois de leurs succès et de leurs défis. Les auteurs affirment que si les PPP tels que le Fonds mondial et Gavi ont contribué de manière significative à la lutte contre des problèmes de santé tels que le sida, la tuberculose et le paludisme, ils ont également entraîné une fragmentation des systèmes de santé et des problèmes de responsabilité. Le texte critique le modèle actuel des initiatives mondiales en matière de santé et souligne les inquiétudes liées à la domination du secteur privé. Les auteurs proposent de développer de nouveaux partenariats pour l'agenda de la santé post-2030 et de repenser le modèle traditionnel de PPP. Ils soulignent la nécessité de s'attaquer aux déterminants politiques de la santé, tels que la pauvreté et les inégalités, et de promouvoir des modèles de partenariat qui mettent l'accent sur le développement du système de santé et la lutte contre les causes profondes des maladies, telles que le changement climatique et les maladies non transmissibles. Une refonte fondamentale des partenariats, mieux adaptés aux besoins des pays bénéficiaires et favorisant des solutions sanitaires plus équitables, est demandée.

• The Lancet

La Commission de la société civile de l'OMS a été créée pour renforcer l'engagement entre l'OMS et la société civile aux niveaux mondial, régional et national. Le rapport qui vient d'être publié montre qu'une collaboration ouverte avec la société civile contribue à une politique de santé plus complète et plus efficace et à une élaboration plus inclusive des politiques. Les trois études de cas présentées dans ce rapport - Participation sociale pour la couverture sanitaire universelle, Changement climatique et santé, et Quatorzième programme général de travail de l'OMS - soulignent le potentiel de transformation de la participation de la société civile et la manière dont ses capacités et son expertise peuvent être utilisées pour améliorer la qualité et la pertinence des résultats de l'AMS. L'étude expose les principaux défis et fournit des recommandations concrètes pour améliorer l'interaction future de l'OMS avec la société civile. Citation du directeur général de l'OMS : « Nous sommes conscients que le succès de nos initiatives en matière de santé dépend de la solidité de nos partenariats avec la société civile ».

• Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS)

"La date du nouveau rapport d’Oxfam sur les inégalités, le 20 janvier 2025, ne pourrait pas être plus symbolique : alors que les élites du pouvoir mondial se réunissent au Forum économique mondial de Davos et que le milliardaire Donald Trump reprend ses fonctions de président des États-Unis, le rapport intitulé « Takers not Makers » (ceux qui prennent sans créer) révèle comment l’aggravation des inégalités déséquilibre le monde."

• solidar suisse

"A distinct field of enquiry is crystallising at the confluence of global health and primary care, with roots in the audacious vision set out in the Declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978. Primary care is a model of care that provides first-contact, accessible, continuous, comprehensive, coordinated, integrated, and people-centred services in the community setting. The Declaration of Alma-Ata placed primary care services at the very heart of the health system. Primary care providers are generally trained to deliver biopsychosocial whole-person care, to manage people presenting with undifferentiated symptoms, and—when appropriately equipped—to manage the vast majority of health problems within their local community."

• The Lancet

"The People’s Health Movement (PHM) outlines a bold vision for Public Pharma as a cornerstone of its transformative agenda to address systemic inequities perpetuated by capitalism and imperialism. This position paper calls for dismantling the dominance of Big Pharma and replacing it with a state-led, people-centered model for the research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of health technologies. Grounded in the principles of the Alma Ata Declaration, PHM advocates for Public Pharma to ensure equitable access to high-quality, affordable medicines while fostering health sovereignty and international solidarity. Public Pharma, therefore, emerges not merely as a policy reform but as a transformative mechanism to realign health systems with human rights, ecological sustainability, and the collective well-being of communities worldwide."

• People’s Health Movement
• PHM Public Pharma Policy Brief

"According to Themrise Khan, white saviorism is “imprinted psychologically in the minds of anyone who wants to be a saviour, anyone who thinks that they are superior to others and thinks that it is only them who can bring betterment into the lives of others.” This phenomenon often manifests in the global health system when researchers, scientists, and even NGO staff and volunteers from the Global North parachute into the Global South, attempting to “save” people without genuinely collaborating with them."

• Health Policy Watch

"In a world defined by insecurity, uncertainty, and geopolitical fragmentation, the environment for development cooperation has never been more challenging. The development landscape—characterised by more actors, more motives, and more fragmentation—demands more from development agencies: more strategic focus, more agility, and more resilience to current and future shocks. This shifting context requires a re-evaluation of what it means for development agencies to be “effective.” How can agencies continue to deliver measurable results today while preparing for an uncertain future, in a world marked by multiple, protracted, and converging crises?"

• Center for Global Development

"Safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are hypothesized to reduce the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in multiple ways. This includes through limiting the transmission of resistant microorganisms, reducing symptomatic infection and the subsequent use of antimicrobials, and by safely storing, treating, and disposing of faecal wastes which can be hotspots for the evolution of AMR. A previous ecological study exploring the relationship between water and sanitation access and antimicrobial resistant genes (ARGs) in human faeces across 26 countries found that increased access to improved services was associated with lower ARG abundance, particularly in crowded urban areas."

• Antimicrobial Resistance Center

"This study estimates the global direct inpatient healthcare expenditure attributable to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and projects future expenditures under different scenarios. Using the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s estimates of AMR burden, and a novel epidemiological literature review, new estimates of AMR inpatients admission volumes are produced."

• Center for Global Development

"A highly distressing pattern is emerging with obstinate coherence in the ongoing debates currently held at several multilateral agencies – a renewed systemic assault on women’s agency. Instrumentally celebrated as self-sacrificing family caregivers, dedicated healthcare professionals, or nurturing mothers vocated to fulfil their reproductive function, women find themselves increasingly gated and suffocated within worn-out misleading narratives of health stereotypes that reinforce their assigned roles as vulnerable persons. But women’s reality is different: they are, rather, made vulnerable."

• StopThePushBack

"Approximately two-thirds of women face healthcare access problems. Sociodemographic factors such as age, education, marital status, wealth, media exposure, and health insurance are associated with lower odds of experiencing healthcare access issues. On the other hand, factors such as divorce/widowhood, the number of young children, household size, female household heads, rural residence, and region have been linked to higher odds of facing healthcare access challenges. To address these disparities, policies, and interventions should focus on vulnerable populations by improving access to health insurance, increasing educational attainment, and providing support for single mothers and large households. Additionally, tailored regional approaches may be necessary to overcome barriers to healthcare access."

• PLOS ONE

Le rapport annuel 2024 du Fonds mondial revient sur l'année écoulée, ses priorités et ses réussites. Un exemple positif est la création d'une application pour les agentes et agents de santé communautaire « community health worker » au Mozambique, qui remplace les anciens piliers papier et simplifie grandement le travail des bénévoles. Et en décembre, l'initiative « Breaking Down Barriers » a été lancée au Congo. Pour les travailleuses et travailleurs du sexe, il s'agit d'une véritable amélioration des conditions de travail. Outre les nombreuses réussites, le secteur de la santé reste confronté à des défis de taille et le Fonds mondial sera également sollicité en 2025.

• Le Fonds mondial

"Private sector engagement opens pathways for a game-changing US$2 billion investment opportunity in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. DAVOS – In a World Economic Forum plenary on Wednesday, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) presented an investment opportunity that invites businesses, philanthropic leaders and foundations to invest in accelerating progress in the fight against the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. This investment opportunity is part of a larger fundraising effort that will be launched in the coming weeks. The Global Fund aims to raise US$2 billion from private donors, an investment that would yield a 19-to-1 return on investment in health and economic gains and save over 2 million lives."

• The Global Fund

"As the world heads into a new year, humanitarian emergencies in multiple countries are vying for attention – and funds. In 2024, UNFPA’s humanitarian response operations were just 42 per cent funded overall, posing critical threats to the health and rights of millions of women and girls. Without sufficient resources, UNFPA cannot deploy midwives where they are most needed, shelters for survivors of gender-based violence are forced to close, and women and girls lose access to essential health supplies and services. All of this is already unfolding in some of the most pressing, but least supported, emergencies around the world."

• United Nations Population Fund

"2024, the world reached an alarming milestone: the hottest global temperatures ever recorded. Floods, heat waves, tropical storms, hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires are affecting everyone, everywhere, with devastating consequences." But behind the headlines of environmental catastrophe lies a quieter crisis: the health impacts of climate change on women, families and newborns, and the health providers at the forefront of this crisis.

• Health Policy Watch

"One of Transform Health's three key objectives is advocating for increased and better coordinated domestic and international financial investments to support the equitable, inclusive, and sustainable digital transformation of health systems in low and middle income countries. To further this effort, Transform Health is launching a co-created Digital Health Investment (DHI) Checklist. The Checklist contains a set of questions to consider when designing and making investment decisions to help guide digital health investments towards delivering health for all in the digital age. It outlines key strategic considerations (part A) and priority investment areas (part B) that digital health investments should consider."

• Transform Health

"Le Centre national d’intelligence épidémiologique basé à Kinshasa semble être à mille lieues des rues connues pour être chaotiques de la mégapole. Ce bâtiment, pourtant discret de l’extérieur, est l’épicentre du vaste système numérique de surveillance des maladies de la République démocratique du Congo."

• The Global Fund

"Welcome to the fifth issue of the Governing Pandemics Snapshot. This issue provides critical insight into the past six months of negotiations over a World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, examining whether a meaningful agreement can be achieved this year. It addresses remaining contentious issues such as Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) and One Health, whilst highlighting recent successes in Research and Development (R&D) and Sustainable Financing."

• Health Policy Watch

"The world remains unprepared for another pandemic, according to the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS) which published its Fourth Implementation Report of the 100 Days Mission (100DM) last Friday. The IPPS is an initiative aimed at ensuring global access to diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines (DTVs) within 100 days of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). Critical gaps remain, particularly in developing and distributing diagnostics and therapeutics for diseases with pandemic potential."

• Health Policy Watch

"A strong WHO Code of Practice is crucial to protect the rights of migrating health workers. A strong civilsociety can contribute to this by sharing information (such as data) with WHO through e.g. reporting rounds, driving the discussion and pushing for social dialogue. The panellists discussed, among others, how working conditions for health and care workers have worsened since the Covid-19 pandemic. This has made it difficult for countries to retain their health workers in their health systems. Many countries have become more dependent on foreign-trained health workers."

• Watch the recording of the session

"We seek a talented candidate, with concrete, proven experiences in health programme management and humanitarian/security aid, to manage an exciting and dynamic country portfolio (70-90% employment). Your role includes: - Develop the long-term strategy and thematic orientation of the country program, in close collaboration with the country team; - Manage Project and Program cycles, including planning, budgeting, monitoring, reporting, log-frame development, and project documentation. Starting date: As soon as possible, according to availability. Does this challenge appeal to you? Then we look forward to receiving your complete application including: - Your CV (max. 2 pages), including 3 references, a cover letter outlining your motivation and how you meet the requirements by 16 February 2025."

• SolidarMed
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