Swiss minister backs the WHO and its mandate

The Swiss interior minister, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider. Keystone-SDA

Swiss Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider has called for stable and sustainable funding for the World Health Organization (WHO). It is in Switzerland’s interest that the WHO continues to fulfil its mandate, she says.

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On Friday, Baume-Schneider met the Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in Geneva, according to the interior ministry. Talks focused particularly on the WHO’s tense budget situation and reform processes.

“I actually came away [from the meeting] with renewed energy,” Baume-Schneider said in a Saturday interview with the Le Temps newspaper. “Of course we are worried about the attitude of the US, but it’s reassuring to see that multilateralism has retained its strength, perhaps even more than ever,” she said.

“In a situation like this, it is not a question of giving in to fear. We must act together and not allow divisions to prevail,” said Baume-Schneider, who reaffirmed “Switzerland’s interest in and support for the WHO, as well as for the ability of states to come together to find solutions”.

At a time of budgetary cutbacks, it’s more important than ever to clearly emphasise the organisation’s main mandate, the minister said, according to the press release. Switzerland is in contact with other countries, donors and the WHO itself in an effort to preserve life-saving programmes – for example in the fight against diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and polio.

The WHO, of which Switzerland is a founding member, is backed by its 194 member states, Baume-Schneider’s ministry pointed out. It has global expertise and provides a multilateral institutional framework for promoting health protection worldwide.

‘Proactive’ government

When asked about the threats to international Geneva posed by the US financial cuts, Baume-Schneider said the city’s international ecosystem “is not going to fall apart” – although it’s important to “stay alert” to the situation.

“I’m not minimising the risks, which are very significant. But I am convinced that, together with the Federal Council and the canton of Geneva, we are going to respond appropriately,” she told Le Temps. Despite criticism, “the government in Bern is doing what it has to do, it is talking to international bodies, it is being proactive”, she added.

Translated from French by DeepL/dos

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