Swiss health minister criticises Trump’s ‘rash’ WHO exit
EPA/JIM LO SCALZO / POOL
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Swiss health minister criticises Trump’s ‘rash’ WHO exit
Switzerland has expressed “deep” regret over US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), Swiss Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider told the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA in Davos on Tuesday. She described it as a rash move that undermines multilateral cooperation.
“We will show that we are not intimidated,” said Baume-Schneider at the World Economic Forum (WEF). She stressed the importance of the WHO not just for Switzerland, but globally, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s not just about money,” she continued, noting that “countless lives have been saved” thanks to the organisation.
Baume-Schneider mentioned that the Swiss government still needs to discuss Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the WHO. Trump signed the withdrawal just hours after his inauguration on Monday.
When asked about Switzerland’s role in relation to the Trump administration, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described a Europe losing momentum, Baume-Schneider conveyed a message of a “strong” Switzerland. She echoed the sentiments of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who depicted Europe as strong despite the criticisms.
What is your opinion? Join the discussion:
External Content
Translated from French with DeepL/sp
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Life & Aging
Switzerland no longer wants to foot the bill for ‘suicide tourism’
Swiss parliament calls for deeper EU security cooperation
This content was published on
The House of Representatives has called on the Swiss government to take a more proactive approach to European security policy.
Switzerland has no US-style fentanyl problem, says health minister
This content was published on
There is very little chance of a US-sized fentanyl epidemic in Switzerland, says health minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider.
This content was published on
Two fish species recently discovered in Switzerland have been called fluvicola and ommata, following an appeal to the public for names.
Convicted ex-shipowner achieves partial success in Swiss court
This content was published on
The Federal Supreme Court orders lower court to reassess part of its verdict against former Swiss shipowner Hans-Jürg Grunder.
This content was published on
A Swiss moratorium on the genetic engineering of plants, which expires at the end of 2025, could be extended for five years.
SWISS airline achieves second-best profit in history
This content was published on
Revenues soared for Swiss International Air Lines in 2024, contributing to the second-largest profit in the company's history.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.