Today, Ifakara Health Institute is privileged to host a high-level delegation from Switzerland. The delegation made an official tour of the Institute’s research and training facilities located at Kingani area in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. 

The delegation includes a member of the cantonal government of Basel-Stadt Conradin Crame; President of Global Health & Sustainability at Novartis Lutz Hegemann; President of the University of Basel Andrea Schenker-Wicki; and Director of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH).

Cramer is a Swiss politician with the Liberal Democratic Party, LDP. He has been a member of the cantonal government of Basel-Stadt since 2017.

Hegemann leads the Novartis Global Health unit and is responsible for integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters into the core of the company’s business, with a special emphasis on innovation and access. 

The Global Health unit focuses on transforming health in low- and middle-income countries with programs targeting malaria, neglected tropical diseases, and non-communicable diseases such as sickle cell disease. It also represents the company’s business in sub-Saharan Africa.

Andrea Schenker-Wicki has been President of the University of Basel since 1 August 2015. Her third term of office runs until July 2027.

And Jürg Utzinger, is the Director of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Basel.

About Basel university

The University of Basel is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. It was founded in 1460, making it the Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universities. Traditionally, the university is counted among the leading Swiss institutions of higher learning.

About Novartis

Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the fourth largest by revenue in 2022.

About Swiss TPH

The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute or Swiss TPH is an international global health institute working in various disciplines with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries. Rudolf Geigy founded it in 1943.