Study trip – Slovak experts learn about the system of health promotion and prevention of non-communicable diseases in Switzerland

On March 16-18, 2026, a group of experts from Slovakia, consisting of the representatives of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic, the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic and selected regional public health offices, participated in a working study trip to Switzerland, with the aim of getting acquainted with the system and projects in the domain of health promotion and prevention of non-communicable diseases, establishing important contacts, strengthening cooperation with the Swiss partner and, in particular, being inspired and transferring existing know-how to Slovakia.

The study trip took place within the framework of the implementation of the Health program, which is part of the Swiss-Slovak Cooperation Program, and was hosted by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the RADIX Swiss Health Foundation.

The program included meetings with representatives of various organizations:

• Nils Rosemann – program manager SDC,
• Ivan Hromada – representative of the Swiss Contribution Office,
• Cornelia Conrad – executive director RADIX,
• Stefanie Pürro – Head of health promotion and prevention, Bern,
• Susanne Schaffner – Director of Health and Head of the Department of the Interior, Canton of Solothurn,
• Manuela Meneghini – Head of Health Promotion and Prevention and team, Canton of Solothurn,
• Chiara Testera, Head of CAP (cantonal action programme), Swiss Health Promotion Foundation,
• Cornelia Waser, Head of Programme Development CAP, Swiss Health Promotion Foundation,
• Raphaël Trémeaud – Head of Prevention Healthcare, Swiss Health Promotion Foundation,

The topics covered during the presentations and subsequent discussions were mainly focuses on an overview of the Swiss public health system, regional health services and related projects at the city level, the implementation of the Swiss strategy combating non-communicable diseases at the cantonal level: governance, financing, policy challenges, implementation of health promotion in communities and schools, cantonal action programs in the areas of nutrition, physical activity and mental health (CAP), linking prevention and healthcare.

During the panel discussion on March 17, Silvia Steiner – Managing Director, Association of Cantonal Health Promotion Officers, Conference of Health Directors, Daniela Kállayová – Ministry of Health SR, Kathrin Favero – Co-Head of the Health Promotion, Prevention and Addiction Support Section, FOPH, Chiara Testera, Manuela Meneghini, Julie Page – Co-Director of the Mental Health Network, Reto Wiesli – organization POLSAN dealing with politics, communication and management of associations, discussed the topic of “Coordination, Networking and Political Lobbying”.

On March 18, the Slovak delegation had the opportunity to directly participate in the activities of individual projects in practice. These projects were:

Zäme go laufe – outdoor exercise and social activities for seniors

Café Balance – a balance activity for seniors using cup of coffee as a fall prevention

Purzelbaum Kindergarten – exercise, nutrition and mental health of children in a kindergarten environment

Femmes Tische – integration works with migrants

This was followed by a visit to the University of Zurich, during which the participants were able to learn about the approaches serving to monitor schools, evaluate the project effectiveness and as a basis for cantonal or national strategies and programs.

The entire visit was an incredibly rich and inspiring experience, from which the participants – prevention coordinators as well as experts from ministries take away a lot of ideas for their further work in the field of health promotion and prevention of non-communicable diseases. The most resonating thoughts were “effective prevention requires a long-term strategy” or the importance of linking academic research and practical implementation of prevention programs. The method of multi-source financing of activities in the field of addiction prevention applying % of cigarette and alcohol sales revenues for prevention, was also of interest, and the “multiplier approach” according to which the policy of disease prevention and health promotion is created on “bottom – up” principle reflecting the needs of cities and regions, the requirements of schools, families, employers or operators of leisure activities was also presented. The selection of implemented activities according to standard criteria and combined methods of evaluating activities were also inspiring, while the Swiss partners consider knowledge from qualitative evaluation as valuable outputs and use them to assess the success and level of project implementation.

The experiences of the participants speak for themselves:

“I was inspired by the information from the Swiss side and the subsequent debate with assist. prof. Kállayová, on how we as the Regional Public Health Authority could be an expert advisor for self-governments or cities to guide them to carry out a specific intervention and also evaluate them”

“I was impressed by the fact that Switzerland puts a great emphasis on intersectoral cooperation between health – education – social areas.”

“The most interesting activity not only of the whole day but also of the study trip was for me the Coffee Balance activity, which was a wonderful example of how one intervention can strengthen the body, brain and social connections, which is important for mental health. At the same time, I am glad I was able, thanks to the presentation of Dr. Anja Frei, to see how some interventions have been developed – intervention studies, where we could see the use of analytical statistical methods.”

“The presentation of the Swiss public health system and the functioning of the cantons was interesting, as their structure, size and way of functioning can be compared to self-governing regions to a certain extent.”

“The idea of ​​a project focused on children and their healthy eating, which has similar features to several proposed activities within the Health program, resonated with me the most. The Swiss partners emphasize not only the education (what is healthy and what is not), but also children’s attitudes and the dissemination of knowledge about eating in the family. I would like to test such an activity in Slovak environment where children would not only learn to choose healthier foods, but also to prepare simple meals, food culture, hygiene in food preparation and consumption, and parents could be offered a consultation at a health clinic.”

“I was inspired by the presentation by Chiara Testera, which helped to identify a space among coordinating strategies and resulting activities of the Regional Public Health Authorities and the self-governing regions.”

“The Femmes Tische project, which was primarily focused on supporting the parenthood of immigrant women from West Africa, was the most interesting. Was so successful that could be extended to men and entire migrant families, with the condition of keeping it in English language. The project connects people who have been excluded in their new environment and do not know how to fit into the community using the peer-to-peer method. It also gives a space where the community is gradually an educator towards a healthier lifestyle, where health literacy increases, and the availability of health services improves. My opinion, inspired by the Femmes Tische project, there is a spaced to create a similar project in cooperation with local governments in the Slovak Republic. Cooperation with universities would be beneficial here.”

The study visit to Switzerland confirmed that the top-level healthcare is not only a question of the amount of investment, but above all precise management, emphasis on prevention and effective connection of the academic sector with practice. The Swiss model shows that decentralization and a high level of citizen responsibility can, in symbiosis with proper coordination and modern technologies, create a system that is not only of high-quality, but also sustainable in the long-term perspective.

The most benefit of this study visit is the knowledge that the transformation of healthcare system begins with the courage to accept systemic changes. The Swiss experience is a clear signal for our Health Program that the path to better health outcomes leads through the coordination of processes and the support of innovations that always keep a human being– the citizen – at the center of attention.