- Exchange and Networking
- Knowledge and Learning
- Advocacy
- Our topics
Swiss Malaria Group Bern, 25 April 2016. The Swiss Malaria Group together with president of the national council Christa Markwalder, president of the state council Raphaël Comte and members of the national parliament, Isabelle Chevalley (Green Liberal Party), Marina Carrobbio (Social Democratic Party), Yvonne Feri (Social Democratic Party) and Rosemarie Quadranti (Civic Democratic Party), signed the Bern Malaria Declaration to reaffirm Switzerland’s leadership role to end malaria.
„Being from Bern makes me proud to welcome everybody in Bern, Capital of this year’s World Malaria Day. Being Swiss makes me proud that our country has taken on a leadership role in reducing malaria, aligned with the decided global goals, 90% until 2030.” says president of the national council Christa Markwalder.
In front of a giant mosquito (cf. press release 25.4.16 00:01), parliamentarians and members of the SMG signed the Bern Declaration on Malaria (see attachment with complete list of signing parliamentarians) pledging their commitment to work collaboratively to defeat malaria. “The fight against malaria is a fight against poverty and, therefore, a worthwhile investment for the international community, including Switzerland,” says Isabelle Chevalley: “By signing the Bern Declaration on Malaria, we, members of the Parliamentary Group on Global Health, join with members of the Swiss Malaria Group to call for a reinvigorated effort against malaria and universal healthcare as outlined by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
WHO Director General Dr Margaret Chan welcomes to Bern – Capital of World Malaria Day via video-message (http://we.tl/s6fVzg0xsi) and expresses her thanks for Switzerland’s engagement in the fight against malaria: “Drawing on its research institutes, pharmaceutical industry, and nongovernmental organizations, Switzerland has supported both the development of recommended interventions and their practical application within countries, especially in Africa”. Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Director Manuel Sager sees Swiss engagement in fighting malaria as a brilliant example of leveraging Swiss know-how and building on Switzerland’s comparative advantages.
Commenting on the recent decision of the financial committee of the National Council to reduce official development assistance to 0.4% of the Gross National Income (GNI), the Bern Malaria Declaration urges Switzerland to continue to work towards a reduction of global disease and poverty, a goal critical to achieving stability and social and economic development. Swiss investments in malaria projects in endemic countries have demonstrated significant impact (see Section 4 of the declaration on investment returns). Sustained progress in this area will help reduce the burden of malaria and associated poverty even further. The parliamentarians and the Swiss Malaria Group are urging the Swiss government to strengthen its support to malaria within the framework of increased official development assistance.
For more information please contact:
Carole Küng, Executive Secretary Swiss Malaria Group, ckueng@swissmalariagroup.ch, Tel. +41 774477946
Christian Lengeler, Board member SMG, Tel: +41 79 257 4386, christian.Lengeler@unibas.ch