[Medical development cooperation in the Confederation. The international framework and the important place of public health in Swiss development cooperation].

The systematic organization of health services in the developing countries to benefit the majority of the population is seen as an important contribution toward the general economic and social development of these countries. This view is uncontested today, but was given less importance in the early years of Swiss development aid. The Swiss Development Cooperation's support of health services is now integrated into its overall program to satisfy the basic needs of the people of the developing countries.