There is no end in sight to the violence in Syria and the humanitarian situation is unlikely to improve in the near future. On 7 June 2013, the UN in Geneva published its assistance plans for Syria and neighbouring countries for the second half of 2013. The UN and its partners have requested USD 4.4 billion to alleviate suffering. Switzerland intends to add CHF 20 million to the CHF 30 million already provided for the victims since the beginning of the conflict in Syria.

Summary: Due to exceptionally heavy rainfalls and the consequent extreme flooding of the major river systems, particularly in the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, followed by Slovakia and Hungary, thousands of people have been evacuated from several parts of central Europe. Further rainfall, which has been forecast across parts of the region in the coming days, is likely to exacerbate the problems caused by flooding, especially in low-lying areas.

Une stratégie unique qui englobe pour la première fois l’aide humanitaire, la coopération technique et financière, les mesures de politique économique et commerciale et la coopération avec les pays de l’Est : ce tournant important a été salué aussi bien par le Parlement que par l’opinion publique, soulignent le directeur de la DDC Martin Dahinden et Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, Secrétaire d’Etat et directrice du SECO, dans le rapport annuel 2012 sur la coopération internationale de la Suisse qui vient de sortir de presse.

Financed entirely by eleven donors, the World Bank-administered Emergency Services Support Program (ESSP) Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) provided key financing for the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) social sector emergency program. This program was successfully implemented, despite the difficult security context, and benefited the entire Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza. At the conclusion of the project, public facilities continued to operate at the same or higher levels than the 2007 baselines.

Challenge

Worldwide efforts to combat HIV/AIDS have made remarkable progress in recent years, and the experts are even looking forward to bringing the epidemic to an end. Much remains to be done, however, particularly as far as access to care services and non-discrimination against those infected are concerned. The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, sums up the current situation in an interview granted during his visit to Bern on 13 May 2013.

Genève - Le Fonds mondial de lutte contre le sida, la tuberculose et le paludisme se félicite de la nouvelle selon laquelle la Suisse envisagerait d’augmenter sa contribution au Fonds mondial. Cette information a été donnée par le Conseiller fédéral pour les Affaires étrangères et Vice-président de la Confédération, Didier Burkhalter, qui au cours d’un entretien avec le Directeur exécutif du Fonds mondial, Mark Dybul, aujourd’hui à Berne, a réaffirmé les engagements de la Suisse vis-à-vis du Fonds mondial.

HARARE — In Zimbabwe, the Swiss government has given $6 million to the U.N. Children's Fund to improve the country’s water and sanitation. The African country still has significant numbers of people sharing water sources with animals, and an even greater number who do not have access to a working bathroom.

In Zimbabwe’s capital, luxury cars of all models are seen in the streets. But just outside the capital, there is poverty. It gets worse in the rural areas where some people go their entire life without a decent water supply and have to mostly defecate in the open.

Today marks the start of Swiss membership of “Friends of Yemen”, a group of over 30 states and several organisations which exists to support political transition in Yemen. At today’s meeting in London, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter mentioned that between 2012 and 2014 Switzerland has provided around CHF 20 million to support political stabilisation and improve the humanitarian situation in the country.

ANTANANARIVO – Le Programme alimentaire mondial des Nations Unies (PAM) a reçu aujourd’hui de la part du Gouvernement suisse une contribution de presque 550 000 dollars américains en faveur de son programme de secours et de redressement à Madagascar. Cette contribution permettra au PAM de venir en aide à 85 000 bénéficiaires tout au long de l’exécution du projet.