USI student as a youth delegate to the 76th World Health Assembly
Institutional Communication Service
6 June 2023
Valeria Scheiwiller, a fifth-year USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences student, recently attended the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva as a youth delegate representing Switzerland. The Swiss Medical Students' Association has only twice had the opportunity to send a representative in the history of the World Health Organization, and this was one of those occasions.
The World Health Assembly (WHA) took place in Geneva at the Palais des Nations from 21 to 31 May 2023. It is the highest-level meeting of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Valeria, a member of the Swiss Medical Student Association (swimsa), was the second youth delegate to join the Swiss delegation at the World Health Assembly, alongside the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). Currently, only 15 out of 193 nations have a youth delegate at the World Health Assembly, and swimsa has worked tirelessly since 2018 to establish this position. "Participating as a youth delegate has given me valuable insight into global health policy," says Valeria, who is a member of the Swiss Medical Student Association (swimsa), of which she will be president from September 2023 and is currently co-president of the Association of Medical Students in Ticino (smusi).