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Our Impact
For nearly 80 years, we have grown and developed our activities and strengthened partnerships around the world. Through our three strategic goals – excellence in science, taking science to impact and mutual learning for sustainable development – we commit to improving the health and well-being of people through a unique combination of research, education and services.
MAKING THE WORLD A HEALTHIER PLACE
Our mission is to make the world a healthier place. We ensure that we achieve this by continuously assessing the impact that our activities have on people and populations, reporting on the progress that we make within our strategic goals and topics and demonstrating our contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This year, we are proud to share some highlights of the progress that we have made within our eight strategic topics which range from environment and health to statistical and mathematical modelling.
Strategic Topics
The diverse portfolio of projects, initiatives and programmes at Swiss TPH are grouped into eight strategic topics (STOs). In each STO, we work across departments and along our value chain, from innovation and validation to application, to improve health on a global scale. The STOs reflect key emerging issues in global health and are linked to the SDGs.
STO–1
Infection Biology and Molecular Epidemiology
Generating new insight into the biology and molecular epidemiology of poverty-related infectious diseases.
STO–2
Developing, validating and applying drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, vector control measures and computational tools for the improvement of global health.
STO–3
Personalised and Digital Health
Defining markers for disease control and surveillance and conducting research using cohorts and biobanks by means of longitudinal characterisation of participants.
STO–4
Environment and Health
Improving the health and well-being of people by addressing determinants of health in humanenvironmental systems. STO–5
Society and Civic Engagement
Striving for social justice in health and engaging with people in the process.
STO–6
Health Systems and Interventions
Translating evidence and strengthening health systems and policies.
STO–7
Mobility, Migration and Outbreak Investigation
Assessing the healthcare needs in mobile populations, internally displaced people and international refugees, while maintaining an institutional expert group for outbreak investigation.
STO–8
Statistical and Mathematical Modelling
Generating evidence on disease and health through the development and application of computational, statistical and mathematical modelling of biological disease and epidemiological data.
STO–1
Infection Biology and Molecular Epidemiology
Swiss TPH scientists were awarded two Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) grants to do research on tuberculosis and malaria for the next four years. One project aims to gain knowledge on the intrinsic differential immune traits that defines a protective immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), while the other aims to understand the molecular mechanisms that allow the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum to monitor its immediate environment and optimize survival and transmission under varying conditions. Both grants were awarded to two junior principal investigators of Swiss TPH, Damien Portevin and Nicolas Brancucci.
STO–3
Personalised and Digital Health
An Application to Diagnose and Treat Childhood Diseases
Swiss TPH launched an electronic application to improve the quality of healthcare for children under five years old in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and local health authorities. ALMANACH, short for Algorithm for the Management of Childhood Illness, is a user-friendly application that can be installed on tablets or smartphones and is being used by nurses and community health workers to properly diagnose and treat common childhood diseases. The application has been successfully implemented in Nigeria and will soon be rolled out in Somalia.
STO–2
Diagnostics, Vector Control, Vaccines and New Drugs
Testing Malaria Drugs in a Real-Life Setting
The CARAMAL project, an implementation study that was run over the past four years, aimed to contribute to reducing malaria mortality in children globally by improving the community management of severe malaria cases. Results of this study conducted by Swiss TPH, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), UNICEF, and in-country partners were unexpected: when looking at the impact of rectal artesunate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Uganda, researchers found that it had a positive impact in Uganda, but an inverse affect in the DRC and Nigeria. This demonstrated that clinical trial outcomes may not be reflective of real-life situations, highlighting the importance of functioning health systems for successful interventions.
STO 4
Environment and Health
Global Guidelines for Better Air Quality
The World Health Organization (WHO) launched new air quality guidelines, which aim to protect the health of populations by reducing key air pollutants. Drawing on expertise from over 30 years of research on air pollution and health, Swiss TPH contributed to the new set of guidelines by generating evidence through multiple long-term studies and providing policy advice. The guidelines will serve as a tool for policy makers to guide legislation to combat air pollution and climate change. Countries can use the guidelines as a tool to support the selection and adoption of measures to reduce exposure to air pollution, strengthening multisectoral cooperation, advocating for air quality and climate action, and taking effective steps to reduce health inequities related to air pollution.
STO–1 → Swiss TPH generates insight into the biology and molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases.
STO–4 → Swiss TPH contributed to the new set of WHO air quality guidelines.
STO–2 → The CARAMAL project worked towards improving community management of severe malaria cases.
STO–3 → ALMANACH is a user-friendly application that can be installed on tablets or smartphones.
STO–5 → Distrust and violence against healthcare workers often diminishes the effectiveness of health system interventions.
STO–8 → Scientists at Swiss TPH contributed to the malaria vaccine from discovery to preclinical studies, through to clinical testing.
STO–6 → Swiss TPH works to empower district managers and local actors to address pressing health challenges. STO–7 → NIIDS is a novel integrated infectious disease diagnosis and surveillance system.
STO–5
Society and Civic Engagement
Reducing Violence in Healthcare
Distrust and violence against healthcare workers by patients, affiliated third parties or co-workers is a humanitarian issue that often reduces the effectiveness of health system interventions. Swiss TPH, together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and local partners, is researching the effectiveness of de-escalation trainings and structural interventions to prevent violence in health facilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and in Iraq.
STO–6
Health Systems and Interventions
Implementing Health Interventions in Complex Systems
Health systems are multifaceted and differ based on context and stakeholder’s competing priorities. Interventions designed to improve population health can be challenging to apply across different settings and take to scale. Swiss TPH experts facilitated the implementation of health interventions by applying a “systems thinking” approach, influencing health policy and working within local health systems, paying particular attention to the engagement of those directly concerned: health workers, patients and the public. Swiss TPH works with the WHO Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research to empower district managers and local actors in Botswana, Pakistan and Timor-Leste in the application of system’s thinking tools to address the most pressing, current health challenges.
STO–7
Mobility, Migration and Outbreak Investigation
To support migrant and refugee health, Swiss TPH, the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) and other partners are developing a novel integrated infectious disease diagnosis and surveillance system (NIIDS) in Ethiopia, where there are currently over 800,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers. The project will assess healthcare needs of migrants and refugees, as well as set up a platform to support the diagnosis and management of clinically relevant infectious diseases in these vulnerable populations. Supported by the Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation, this tool will subsequently serve as a ready-to-use diagnostic system for surveillance and disease severity assessment at the primary healthcare level.
STO–8
Statistical and Mathematical Modelling
WHO Recommends Ground-Breaking Malaria Vaccine
The WHO endorsed the widespread use of the malaria vaccine, marking the first step in a process that should lead to broad distribution in low- and middle-income countries. The vaccine assists a child’s immune system to prevent an infection by Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of the five malaria pathogens and the most common in Africa. Swiss TPH has played a leading role thanks to decades of research and development of new malaria vaccines. For 13 years, the Disease Modelling unit at Swiss TPH contributed through building models of the likely impact and cost-effectiveness of the vaccine. Modelling was an important part of this recommendation by estimating the effect of the vaccine beyond what was shown in the trial studies, and helped to show the impact of the vaccine on saving lives and averting disease.
“ My team and I work in the field of clinical immunology in infectious diseases. We aim to understand what constitutes a protective immune response against malaria, tuberculosis and HIV. Innovative, efficacious vaccines would close essential gaps in the fight against these major public health problems.”
Claudia Daubenberger, Head of the Clinical Immunology unit, Swiss TPH
