On 26 September 2026, SolidarMed marked its 100th anniversary with a screening of the documentary “Kein Weg zu weit” (“No Way Too Far”) by Beat Bieri at the Bourbaki cinema in Lucerne. Both the film and the book “Zukunft braucht Herkunft” (“A Future Needs Roots”) mention SMB confreres by name, and the SMB as an institution. In this way they also tell a part of SMB history in Zimbabwe.
SolidarMed currently works in eight countries in southern and eastern Africa: Mozambique, Lesotho, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa and Sierra Leone. The film gives an insight into the situations and living conditions in these countries, above all in remote areas far from any medical care.
Former and current staff from Europe and from the countries concerned speak in moving and often self-critical interviews. They talk about the situation in each country, about the beginnings and the changes, about what has been achieved and about the obstacles that had to be overcome and still remain.
One insight that staff stressed again and again is the need for long-term commitment. Only in this way can lasting and stable change in health conditions come about and be sustained.
A community health worker in Tanzania. Photo: SolidarMed
SolidarMed has worked for 100 years to improve basic health care in rural Africa and India, together with the local population. Photo: SolidarMed
SolidarMed currently works in eight countries in southern and eastern Africa. Photo: SolidarMed
The book “Zukunft braucht Herkunft”
The book “Zukunft braucht Herkunft” (“One Hundred Years for Global Health”) unfolds the story of SolidarMed. Above all, it gives personal testimonies from “Black and white” SolidarMed staff, which show the exceptional achievement of the organisation and make the book a treasure trove on medical changes in the different countries.
The people interviewed, many places and the living conditions of the population in each country are documented in photographs. Together with the interviews and reports, they give a vivid picture of SolidarMed’s hundred years of work.
Both in the documentary and in the book, SMB confreres are named, as is the SMB as an institution, together with doctors known to some SMB confreres. In this sense the book and the film also tell a part of SMB history in Zimbabwe.
Book: “Zukunft braucht Herkunft” (One Hundred Years for Global Health). Authors: Marcel Dreier, Lukas Meier, Andrea Kifyasi, Mohau Leqabanyo, Glen Ncube. Brunner Verlag, Kriens 2026, 250 pages.
Author: Josef Meili – 6 October 2026. Image copyright: SolidarMed.
