From January 12 to 20, 2025, the Swiss Study Foundation Academy, in collaboration with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and the Ifakara Health Institute, is hosting a short course titled Health Planning Under Pressure in Bagamoyo, Tanzania.

The course brings together Swiss students, healthcare professionals, and Tanzanian peers, serving as a continuation of the programme first conducted in 2024. It aims to strengthen practical competencies in strategic health systems planning while fostering critical reflection on public health, epidemiology, health equity, ethical responsibility, and health system structures in both Tanzania and Switzerland.

Advancing strategic health systems planning

The course is designed to equip participants with hands-on experience in planning and decision-making under complex and resource-constrained conditions. Through interactive lectures, group work, case studies, and field-based learning, participants examine real-world health system challenges and explore practical approaches to building resilient and equitable health systems.

A strong emphasis is placed on ethical responsibility and equity, encouraging participants to critically assess how policy choices and planning decisions impact populations across different contexts.

A platform for cross-country and cross-sector exchange

By bringing together participants from different professional backgrounds and country contexts, the course provides a platform for meaningful dialogue and shared learning. Participants include representatives from national authorities, health systems planners, research institutions, and international development organisations.

This multidisciplinary and cross-country exchange strengthens collaboration, broadens perspectives, and promotes collective problem-solving around current and future challenges in health systems planning.

Expert guidance and keynote engagement

The course is led by seasoned public health experts, including Dr. Grace Mhalu of the Ifakara Health Institute, Prof. Mirko Winkler of the Swiss TPH, and Micha Bigler, a PhD candidate in health systems planning at the Swiss TPH and a beneficiary of the Swiss Study Foundation. The programme blends academic instruction with hands-on fieldwork, allowing participants to apply theory to practice.

Participants also engage with keynote speakers and guest experts, including Dr. Ntuli Kapologwe, Director General of the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC), Prof. Marcel Tanner, Franziska Freiburghas from the Embassy of Switzerland in Tanzania, Dr. Sally Mtenga from Ifakara Health Insitute, and more, offering valuable insights into regional and global health system leadership.

Preparing a workforce now for future health challenges

By fostering applied learning, ethical reflection, and international collaboration, the Health Planning Under Pressure short course contributes to building a new generation of health systems thinkers and practitioners. The initiative underscores the importance of evidence-informed planning, equity-focused approaches, and strong leadership in addressing evolving health challenges at both national and global levels.