Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)

The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute or Swiss TPH, (formerly known as the Swiss Tropical Institute) was founded in 1943 as through the initiative of Professor Rudolf Geigy. He recognised the need to combine sound interdisciplinary research within the context of the social and cultural conditions of an endemic area with training and service provision. He felt that this approach would generate new evidence as well as contribute to health development. Since then, this goal remains the mandate of the Swiss TPH – to contribute to the improvement of the health of populations internationally and nationally through excellence in research, services, and teaching and training with a special focus on developing countries.

The Swiss TPH consists of five departments working in various disciplines of International Public Health. In June 2009, the Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine of the University of Basel was integrated into the Swiss Tropical Institute, and in January 2010 the Swiss Tropical Institute changed its name to the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

The Swiss TPH is an Associated Institute of the University of Basel, and as a public organization, is partially supported by the Swiss Federal Council and the Canton of Basel-Stadt. The greater part of its funding comes from competitively acquired project funds and the earnings of its service departments: Medical Services, Medicines Research and the Swiss Centre for International Health.