Today, a high-level delegation from Switzerland visited Ifakara Health Institute’s branch office in Ifakara as part of their two-day visit to the Institute. Yesterday, they visited the Institute’s research and training facilities located at Kingani area in Bagamoyo.

The delegation included Conradin Crame from the cantonal government of Basel-Stadt, Lutz Hegemann, the President of Global Health & Sustainability at Novartis, Andrea Schenker-Wicki, the President of the University of Basel, and Jürg Utzinger, the Director of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH). 

The visit also included His Excellency Ambassador Didier Chassot from the Switzerland Embassy to Tanzania, and Prof. Said Aboud, the Director General of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR). They were warmly received by Dr. Honorati Masanja, the Chief Executive Director of Ifakara, and Mr. Fredrick Masanja, the Ifakara Branch Manager.

During the visit, the Swiss delegation was given a demonstrative tour of Ifakara facilities and research sites, including the Institute's laboratory and infrastructure dedicated to entomological studies. They had the opportunity to witness first-hand ongoing research activities, including drug and vaccine trials, as well as other diagnostic studies conducted by scientists.

As part of the tour, the Swiss delegates also explored facilities located at St. Francis Regional Hospital, such as the Chronic Diseases Clinic of Ifakara (CDCI), operated in collaboration with the Swiss TPH. Additionally, they visited the hospital's intermediate care and emergency unit, managed by Ifakara, the oxygen production plant, the hemodialysis section, and the Heart and Lung Diseases Clinic.