The gap in prevention and treatment of HIV/Aids between industrialized countries and the countries most affected by the epidemic in the South is an ongoing concern. The Ensemble pour une Solidarité Thérapeutique Hospitalière En Réseau (ESTHER) was established by the French government in 2001 to address the HIV/Aids epidemic. ESTHER Projects are based on the twinning of hospitals in the South and North to facilitate training, technical assistance and health services research. Today ESTHER is a European initiative, with currently 12 countries participating in the European ESTHER Alliance (EEA) to address various health challenges, including HIV/Aids. Switzerland joined the EEA in 2012. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), in collaboration with the Federal Office of Public Health, supported the establishment of an ESTHER Switzerland Secretariat which was hosted by Geneva University Hospitals until June 2015. Recently, SDC included ESTHER as a more strategic partner in its global health portfolio and decided not only to continue supporting the Secretariat but also to fund ESTHER Switzerland projects in the area of sexual and reproductive health including HIV/Aids. ISPM Bern’s bid to run the Secretariat and to contribute to ESTHER Switzerland and EEA was successful. The ISPM team will consist of Matthias Egger, Luciano Ruggia, Olivia Keiser and Carmen Theler. We are looking forward to working with SDC, FOPH and EEA on this important initiative!
