In an increasingly interdependent world, health issues are becoming more important in foreign policy. The spread of bird flu in the autumn of 2005 for example underlined the importance of a co-ordinated and shared approach by the international community. Binding provisions of international law such as the WHO International Health Regulations (2005) and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (2003) are clear evidence of increasing international cooperation in the field of public health. Health issues are also a central aspect of development co-operation.

For this reason the FDFA works closely with the most important national and international players in this field.

At national level these are:

• Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)
• State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco)
• Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IIP)
• Integration Office

At the international level, the most important institutions for setting standards on questions of health care are:

• the World Health Organization (WHO)
• the World Bank
• UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund
• UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund
• the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

In the last few years, major international financing instruments have become involved in efforts to control health hazards, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.