Thomas Zeltner

Last updated
Thomas Zeltner
Born (1947-11-15) 15 November 1947 (age 76)
Bern, Switzerland
NationalitySwiss
Occupation(s)Chairman WHO Foundation, physician, lawyer, and former Secretary of Health of Switzerland
Known forChairman WHO Foundation; former secretary of health of Switzerland; co-founder of the Global Patient Safety Forum; professor of public health at the University of Bern, Switzerland; visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health; president of the Swiss Commission for UNESCO; and board member of the Medical University of Vienna

Thomas Zeltner (born 16 November 1947) is a Swiss physician and lawyer. He is the current chairman and interim CEO of the WHO Foundation. [1] He was also the former Secretary of Health of Switzerland Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHA. He has a long history in public health and has repeatedly been ranked among the 12 most influential political figures of Switzerland. [2]

Contents

Zeltner is professor at the University of Bern, Switzerland, in Public Health and visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health. He chairs the Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction (Zürich) and is President of UNESCO Commission of Switzerland. He advises the Swiss government in the implementation and future development of The National Health Policy. He is also the Vice Chair of the University Council of the Medical University of Vienna.

Past

Zeltner was born on 15 November 1947 in Bern, Switzerland. He graduated with an M.D. and an LL.M. (master's in law) from the University of Berne. He specialized in human pathology and forensic medicine before becoming the head of Medical Services at the Bern University Hospital. He held various faculty positions at the University of Bern and at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is Doctor of law (honoris causa) of the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

In 1991, the Swiss Government appointed Zeltner as the 8th Director-General of the Swiss National Health Authority and Secretary of Health of Switzerland, a position he held until the end of 2009.

Under Zeltner's leadership, Switzerland developed in 1991 a pioneering illicit drug policy, which has received global attention. It is based on a 4-pillar strategy (prevention, harm reduction, therapy, and law enforcement), which is enshrined in the Swiss law on narcotic drugs. The harm reduction policy of Switzerland – which includes large-scale syringe exchange programs (also in prisons) [3] and the medical prescription of heroin for chronic heroin addicts – was introduced against the strong opposition of the UN drug control authorities, [4] but endorsed by a majority of the Swiss population in several popular referendums. [5]

In 1999–2000, at the request of the then-Director General of WHO, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Zeltner chaired a committee which investigated the efforts of multinational tobacco companies to undermine tobacco control activities of the World Health Organization (2000). [6] This landmark report marks the beginning of the development of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (2003). [7] With his efforts to reduce tobacco consumption in Switzerland, Zeltner became a favorite adversary of big tobacco and was nicknamed “the Tobacco Taliban." [8]

As director of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, he presided over changes to transform the regulated market model of the Swiss health care sector into a more value- and consumer-driven health care system. The Swiss model guarantees access to affordable insurance to all, even if they have pre-existing medical problems. All residents are required to buy insurance even if they are currently healthy, so that the risk pool remains reasonably favorable. Finally subsidies are given to low income families to pay for their premiums. Even though the Swiss pay 12.18% of the GDP for health (data 2018), [9] a majority of 78% considers that the system works well or very well. [10] The Swiss health care model is gaining increased international interest, particularly in the U.S. [11]

Zeltner was a member and vice-president of the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO) (1999-2002). He chaired the committee to reform the governance rules of the WHO in 2002–4. He was also Executive President of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe (1994–95) and Chairman of the Governing Council of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, (1998-2000). Between 2012 and 2014, Zeltner served the World Health Organization (WHO) in the capacity of a Special Envoy. [12] In this function he advised the Director General of WHO, Margaret Chan, in critical areas of the ongoing reform of this UN agency. [13] [14] The work was successfully completed by adoption of the Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA) by the World Health Assembly in May 2016.

Current position

In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced [15] that Zeltner was one of the founding board members and the first chairman of the WHO Foundation. As of May 2020, Zeltner is acting as interim CEO of the WHO Foundation. [16] The WHO Foundation is an independent grant-making foundation focused on addressing the most pressing global health challenges of today and tomorrow. [17]

He is co-founder of the Global Patient Safety Forum, a convening organization of world patient safety organizations; and a member of the steering board of the Global Patient Safety Challenge, Medication Safety, of the World Health Organization. He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Health Systems and Reform.

Since 1992, he has been Professor of Public Health at the University of Bern and is a visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health (Boston). From 2018 to 2022 he serves as a member of the Board of the Medical University of Vienna (Austria). Zeltner has served as chairman of the board of the health insurer KPT until 2020, the leading online insurance company in Switzerland, which is repeatedly qualified as the best health insurer of Switzerland. [18] He is also president of Blood Transfusion CRS Switzerland, the organization in charge of securing Switzerland's provision with blood and blood products.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harm reduction</span> Public health policies which lessen negative aspects of problematic activities

Harm reduction, or harm minimization, refers to a range of intentional practices and public health policies designed to lessen the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. Harm reduction is used to decrease negative consequences of recreational drug use and sexual activity without requiring abstinence, recognizing that those unable or unwilling to stop can still make positive change to protect themselves and others.

Commonly-cited arguments for and against the prohibition of drugs include the following:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs</span> 1961 international treaty regulating narcotic drugs

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 is a United Nations treaty that controls activities of specific narcotic drugs and lays down a system of regulations for their medical and scientific uses; it also establishes the International Narcotics Control Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julio Frenk</span> Mexican physician and politician

Julio José Frenk Mora is a Mexican physician and sociologist who was the sixth president of the University of Miami from 2015 to 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethan Nadelmann</span> American writer and campaigner for marijuanas legalization

Ethan A. Nadelmann is the founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, a New York City-based non-profit organization working to end the War on Drugs. He is a supporter of the legalization of marijuana in America.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is the name of a number of autonomous pressure groups (charities) in the anglosphere that seek to publicize the risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaign for greater restrictions on use and on cigarette and tobacco sales.

Tobacco harm reduction (THR) is a public health strategy to lower the health risks to individuals and wider society associated with using tobacco products. It is an example of the concept of harm reduction, a strategy for dealing with the use of drugs. Tobacco smoking is widely acknowledged as a leading cause of illness and death, and reducing smoking is vital to public health.

A drug policy is the policy regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances, particularly those that are addictive or cause physical and mental dependence. While drug policies are generally implemented by governments, entities at all levels may have specific policies related to drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drug liberalization</span> Process of reducing drug prohibition laws

Drug liberalization is a drug policy process of decriminalizing, legalizing, or repealing laws that prohibit the production, possession, sale, or use of prohibited drugs. Variations of drug liberalization include drug legalization, drug relegalization, and drug decriminalization. Proponents of drug liberalization may favor a regulatory regime for the production, marketing, and distribution of some or all currently illegal drugs in a manner analogous to that for alcohol, caffeine and tobacco.

Illicit drug use in Australia is the recreational use of prohibited drugs in Australia. Illicit drugs include illegal drugs, pharmaceutical drugs when used for non-medical purposes, and other substances used inappropriately. According to government and community organisations, the use and abuse, and the illegality, of illicit drugs is a social, health and legal issue that creates an annual illegal market estimated to be worth A$6.7 billion. Estimates made in 2022 place the figure at A$11.3 billion per year.

The Swiss Red Cross, or SRC, is the national Red Cross society for Switzerland.

Health in Bhutan is one of the government's highest priorities in its scheme of development and modernization. Health and related issues are overseen by the Ministry of Health, itself represented on the executive Lhengye Zhungtshog (cabinet) by the Minister of Health. As a component of Gross National Happiness, affordable and accessible health care is central to the public policy of Bhutan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. Srinath Reddy</span>

K. Srinath Reddy is an Indian physician and the Former President of the Public Health Foundation of India and formerly headed the Department of Cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann McNeill</span> British academic/tobacco policy expert

Professor Ann McNeill is a British academic and tobacco policy expert. She is currently a professor of Tobacco Addiction in the National Addictions Centre at the King's College London Institute of Psychiatry and deputy director of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies.

Doctors for Drug Policy Reform, or D4DPR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as a global voice for licensed health professionals and scientists advocating for evidence-based drug policies and best practices that advance public health, reduce stigma, and minimize harm. D4DPR leverage the expertise, compassion, and influence of licensed health professionals to enact changes in drug policy necessary to improve public health, human rights, social justice, and consumer protections. D4DPR, formerly DFCR, was founded in 2015 by David L. Nathan. In 2021, Dr. Bryon Adinoff, an addictionologist, researcher, and editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse succeeded Nathan to become D4DPR's second president.

Gerry Stimson is a British public health social scientist, emeritus professor at Imperial College London from 2004, and an honorary professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine from 2017. Stimson has over 220 scientific publications mainly on social and health aspects of illicit drug use, including HIV infection. He has sat on numerous editorial boards including AIDS, Addiction, and European Addiction Research, and with Tim Rhodes he was the co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Drug Policy from 2000 to 2016. He is one of the global leaders for research on and later advocacy for harm reduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FAAAT think & do tank</span> Global think tank on drug policy reform

For Alternative Approaches to Addiction, Think & do tank is an international non-profit organization working on drug policy, created in 2015 and based in Paris, France.

The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World is an organization focused on smoking harm reduction founded in 2017. In May 2024, it changed its name to Global Action to End Smoking. The World Health Organization (WHO) urged not to collaborate with this front organization of the tobacco industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Stöckli</span> Swiss politician

Hans Stöckli is a Swiss politician who served as President of the Council of States from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), he was first elected to the Council of States for the canton of Bern in 2011. Stöckli was previously elected to the mayorship of Biel (1990–2010), Grand Council of Bern (2002–2004) and National Council (2004–2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Banks</span> Epidemiologist and public health researcher

Emily Banks is an Australian epidemiologist and public health physician, working mainly on chronic disease. She is a Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and Head of the Centre for Public Health Data and Policy at the Australian National University, and a visiting professor at the University of Oxford.

References

  1. "Une fondation suisse au secours (Financier) de l'OMS". Le Temps. 28 May 2020.
  2. http://www.bilanz.ch/luxus/geballte-macht Die Mächtigsten: Geballte Macht
  3. "Nicole Pepper for the Harm Reduction Coalition. Syringe Exchange in Prisons: The International Experience". Harm Reduction Coalition. 2007. Retrieved 31 Jul 2013.
  4. "Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 1995" (PDF). International Narcotics Control Board. 1996. Retrieved 31 Jul 2013.
  5. Savary JF, Hallam C, Bewley-Taylor D (2009). "The Swiss Four Pillars Policy: an evolution from local experimentation to federal law" (PDF). The Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme. Briefing Paper Eighteen.
  6. Zeltner T, Kessler DA, Martiny A, Randera F (Jul 2000). "Tobacco Company Strategies to Undermine Tobacco Control Activities at the World Health Organization. Report of the Committee of Experts on Tobacco Industry Documents" (PDF). Geneva, Switzerland. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2004. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  7. Reynolds LA, Tansey EM, eds. (2010) The transcript of a Witness Seminar organized by the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL, in collaboration with the Department of Knowledge Management and Sharing, WHO, held in Geneva, on 26 February 2010. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Retrieved 31 Jul 2013.
  8. Ullekh NP (Jun 2, 2013). "Tobacco industry's bet on India & China may lead to surge in lifestyle diseases: Thomas Zeltner". The Economic Times (India).
  9. "Swiss Federal Statistical Office: Costs, financing". Swiss Federal Administration. 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  10. "Trend zu mehr Eigenverantwortung und weniger Solidarität". Interpharma. 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  11. Cheng T-M (2010). "Understanding the 'Swiss watch' function of Switzerland's health system". Health Aff (Millwood). 29 (8): 1442–51. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0698 . PMID   20707011.
  12. Cassels A. (Apr 2013). "Change @ WHO: New approach to financing". World Health Organization. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  13. "WHO needs change". Nature Publishing Group. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  14. "WHO reform process: Landmark events of the WHO reform process from the initial consultation on the future of financing for WHO". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  15. "WHO Foundation Established to Support Critical Global Health Needs". World Health Organization (see also: "WHO dot int", and "whofoundationproject dot org" ). May 27, 2020. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020. Founding Board Members are: Mr. Bob Carter, Ms. Clare Akamanzi and Professor Thomas Zeltner.
  16. "Une fondation suisse au secours (Financier) de l'OMS". Le Temps. 28 May 2020.
  17. "WHO launches fundraising foundation in Geneva". 28 May 2020.
  18. "Die KPT ist erneut Spitze im Service" (in German). Konsumenteninfo AG. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2013.