Daniel Koch (born 13 April 1955) is a Swiss physician and federal employee. From 2008 to 2020 he was the head of the Swiss federal section "Communicable Diseases" of the
Federal Office of Public Health
The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) is the Swiss federal government’s centre for public health and a part of the Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs.
In addition to developing national health policy, it also represents the inte ...
.
Life, education, employment
Koch studied medicine at the
University of Berne
The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a comp ...
in the 1970s,
then he worked as an assistant doctor for several years. From 1988 to 2002 he worked for the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in
Geneva, first as medical coordinator in crisis areas, including during the civil war in Sierra Leone, Uganda, South Africa and Peru. From 1997, he worked as a medical officer at the ICRC headquarters, where he was responsible for the medical programmes in Africa. In 1996/97, Koch complemented his education with postgraduate studies at the
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, which he completed with a Master in Public Health (MPH). Since 2002, he has worked for the FOPH in various departments. He was a member of the task force against the 2002/2003
SARS pandemic and
H5N1 avian flu.
Until 2006 he was head of the "Vaccinations" section. From 2006 to 2008 he headed the "Pandemic Preparedness" section, and again until 30 April 2020 he was the head of the section.
Koch gained nationwide recognition during the worldwide
COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland through his media presence in the Swiss media as head of the FOPH's "Communicable Diseases" section. During the pandemic's first wave in spring, Koch continued to work as the FOPH's delegate and public representative for COVID-19 through June 2020, despite being due to go into pension in April 2020. He was succeeded by Stefan Kuster in his post.
Personal life
Koch lives in
Schwarzenburg is divorced and has two adult daughters.
In addition to his commitment in the health sector, Koch works for animal protection,
and he is a passionate
canicross runner.
References
External links
Daniel Koch on the website of the Swiss federal BAG/OFSP/UFSP
Daniel Koch on ''SRF''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Daniel
1955 births
Living people
People from Biel/Bienne
University of Bern alumni
Johns Hopkins University alumni
21st-century Swiss physicians
20th-century Swiss physicians
21st-century Swiss politicians
20th-century Swiss politicians
People associated with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
Federal Department of Home Affairs