Guiding Principles of SDC's Cooperation in Health

SDC has adopted a holistic approach to health (see glossary), recognising that many of the major determinants of good or ill health lie outside the proper health sector. All sectors need to reinforce their contribution to improve the health of the poor. SDC moves beyond the persisting tendency to limit health to the delivery of basic services by the health sector to reach this aim. This policy primarily looks at how the health sector can reinforce its role and how synergies between the sectors can be creating and cooperation fostered.

Taking into consideration the challenges faced and the agency's general principles, SDC's cooperation in health will follow seven guiding principles.

SDC's Guiding Principles in cooperation in health

• Health as a human right: Health is a universally recognised human right [8]. SDC considers access to information and services that are favourable to health as a basic human right. The current inequities in health are unacceptable and constitute a violation of human rights. Consequently, SDC advocates for the priority of public health matters in debates on intellectual property and in trade considerations.
• Sustainability: SDC promotes approaches that are affordable and can be implemented by partners and beneficiaries after the Swiss contribution comes to an end.
• Equity and poverty focus: Equity, social justice and good governance are essential for health improvements. SDC aims to identify and meet the needs of the poor and most vulnerable populations (such as women and children, migrants, people affected by HIV/AIDS and other diseases, slum dwellers). To promote a better North-South and East-West balance, SDC supports the voices and interests of the countries in development and transition.
• Promoting a gender-equality development: Women and men should have equal access to health services and health status should not be determined by gender beyond biological differences. Both women and men have an active role to play in shaping health systems to make them more responsive to their specific needs.
• Empowerment, partnership and ownership: Partners in the South and in the East are enabled through capacity building to address responses to their health problems and to have better ownership of the solutions applied and the results achieved. Collaboration aims to foster help for self-help.
• Investing into the future: The future health of nations will be determined by the health of today's children and adolescents. Besides according priority to the needs of women and other vulnerable groups, SDC will consider infants, children and adolescents primary target groups for its operations.
• Making a difference: SDC focuses its operations and support in order to strengthen its comparative advantage and to provide professional and efficient support. Quality is of central concern as well as positively influencing processes in order to achieve maximum impact.