Core Contribution to Médecins Sans Frontières Suisse 2027-2028

In recent years, the international environment has undergone rapid normative and geopolitical shifts, while funding for international cooperation (IC) has increasingly been deprioritised.A t the same time, IC is confronted with a growing number of overlapping crises, including wars in Ukraine and Sudan, protracted conflicts in the Middle East, the Sahel, the DRC, Myanmar and Afghanistan, as well as rising food insecurity and the accelerating impacts of climate change. These crises disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and result in increasing humanitarian needs. Particular challenges include shrinking civic space, restricted humanitarian access, erosion of the rule of law, forced displacement, and persistent gender inequalities. Furthermore, infectious and neglected diseases, acute malnutrition and climate-sensitive diseases have reached unprecedented levels and contribute to child mortality, worsening chronic medical conditions and are occurring in countries that are already overwhelmed. Therefore, Swiss NGOs receiving core contributions must continuously adapt while diversifying their funding sources and demonstrating their added value for Swiss IC. Barriers to meeting humanirarian needs have grown, including due to humanitarian funding cuts.

The flexibility and ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and to deliver principled humanitarian action in favour of the most at risk remains paramountf or MSF-CH. While in some contexts, such as Sudan and Chad, MSF-CH scaled up its operations, the organisation also further strengthened its advocacy efforts to raise awareness on neglected humanitarian crises (DRC, Yemen, South Sudan) and on the impact of unmet humanitarian needs as a result of funding gaps and hampered humanitarian access.

In 2025, MSF-CH managed 112 medical humanitarian projects in 33 countries, including 55 emergency operations. A particular focus was to provide quality, live-saving health care, including mental health, sexual and reproductive health, access to safe drinking water and sanitation measures, and other basic needs to people affected by armed conflicts and violence.

Outcomes 1 and 2: MSF-CH ensuredo ver 2.5 million out-patient consultations, including antenatal consultations for pregnant women, paediatric consultations for girls and boys with diarrhoea or respiratory diseases and follow-up consultations for people with non-communicable diseases like diabetes. 303’000  people were admitted into MSF-CH’s medical facilities with a rising number of women and girls. Over 47'000 safe births could take place as a result of MSF-CH’s interventions and 2'OOO survivors of sexual violence accessed medical care, including psychosocial support. Over 150’000 severely malnourished children were treated in therapeutic feeding programmes and more than 30'000 moderately malnourished children cared for in supplementary feeding centres. 126’000 children were vaccinated against measles in the DRC, Chad, Sudan, Yemen and Honduras.

Outcome 3: The personal protective suit for treating infectious diseases developed in 2023 in cooperation with the EPFL continued to be tested by MSF-CH in order to be validated. In Ukraine, MSF-CH focused on the enhancement of quality of care to address war-related traumatic stress and providing post-traumatics tress disease care (PTSD), and contributed to national discussions on innovative treatments for PTSD. In Yemen, MSF-CH donated medical kits to the Ministry of Health to better handle mass casualty incidents, it provided care for affected peopIe and launched an emergency response training programme for 180 health workers.

Outcome 4: MSF-CH developed a tool to better identify climate hazards, with a focus on floods, droughts, extreme heat, tropical cyclones, and water scarcity. Using this tool, MSF-CH’s missions particularly exposed to heat risks could be identified and scenario-planning workshops were conducted in Dakar for the missions in Chad, Cameroon and Niger. In parallel, a first research module on the impacts of heat on refugees in Dagahaley, Kenya, was completed in 2025.

MSF-CH largely relies on private funding, closely linked to its strict adherence to neutrality and independence. This model has enabJed MSFCH to engage in major crises. To be able to respond to increasing humanitarian needs, MSF-CH is reflecting on suitable options to further diversify its private funding sources. The organisation is pursuing its advocacy to highlight the impact of gaps in humanitarian responses. MSFCH has established a regular dialogue with SDC, including on Sudan.

On localisation, MSF-CH prioritised its work on the “patients and communities as partners” (PPP) approach aimed at putting patients at the centre of medical decisions, including through feedback loops and cocreation with patients and communities. MSF-CH rolled out its PPP Operational Guide to support teams in operations in reflecting on the approach and embedding it into project design.

1. People and communities affected by acute or protracted crises receive adapted need-based humanitarian assistance.

2. People and communities most in need are ensured access to quality basic (primary) and specialist (secondary) healthcare.

3. Participation of patients and communities is safeguarded, and medical quality and standards are improved through targeted policy dialogue.

4. Negative effects of climate change and environmental degradation on the health of patients and communities are addressed.

The visibilityo f the value added by the Swiss NGO to the implementation of the Swiss IC Strategy 2025-28 shall be strengthened and highlighted through:

a. sharpening the narrative for the rationale of the core contribution;

b. an inclusive policy dialogue between SDC and the NGO;

c. implementation of locally-led cooperation;

d. relevant adaptations of programmes and approaches; and

e. evidence-based programming of quality funding.

Phase 8 01.01.2027 - 31.12.2028   (Active)