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Help for asbestos victims and their relatives

project summaryContact with the one-time “miracle fibre” asbestos has painful consequences. The EFA Foundation supports those affected and their close relatives, as well as providing information to interested parties – quickly, fairly and without red tape. Set an example. Support the work of the foundation. Donate now.
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Background

“My mother was a total family person. She gave everything for her two children, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She loved to do home improvement. At that time, we didn’t know that handling asbestos was so dangerous.”
Mrs Santalucia, Relative

Asbestos can cause cancer. It is still the case that around 200 people in Switzerland contract a malignant tumour in the chest or peritoneal area (mesothelioma) every year. In most case, this is because they came into contact with asbestos at work, but it is also possible that they merely played with the material in the yard as children – or that they touched it while renovating their flat themselves, like Mrs Santalucia’s mother.

Such a diagnosis is twice as punishing for those affected, because only illness caused by occupational exposure to asbestos is covered by the compulsory accident insurance. So in addition to the physical and mental stress of the disease, there are usually financial worries as well.

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Idea

“Anyone who falls ill through no fault of their own due to contact with asbestos needs support. That is exactly why the EFA Foundation is so urgently needed.”
Dr Michael Schlunegger, Care Service for German-speaking Switzerland

The EFA Foundation helps those affected and their relatives by providing support and counselling. It ensures financial equality with those who fall ill through exposure at work, as well as raising public awareness through targeted information.

The EFA Foundation operates on a non-profit basis and falls under the purview of the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations. Its work is funded by voluntary donations from business and industry, associations and other institutions or private individuals. In order to be able to finance its work over the next ten years, the foundation requires substantial financial resources. Only then can it provide the services promised to those affected and their families.

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Implementation

“Our greatest success is that the EFA Foundation provides real help that reaches those affected.”
Urs Berger, President of the Foundation Board

Greater social justice for asbestos victims through financial support

The EFA Foundation helps those affected and their relatives by providing financial support – quickly and without red tape – especially if they were not exposed to the material through their work. In this way, it ensures that people whose suffering is not recognised as an occupational disease also receive support.

Care Service: support for those affected and their relatives

Do I want treatment? What therapies are available? Who can help me? For most of those affected, these questions can be overwhelming. The EFA Foundation has therefore set up a Care Service in cooperation with the cantonal lung leagues of Zurich, Vaud and Ticino. Trained specialists advise not only those affected and their relatives, but also other interested parties, in relation to all the questions that arise in connection with an asbestos disease – over the telephone or in person. This service is free of charge, you can find more information here: www.stiftung-efa.ch/wir-helfen

Support the work of the EFA Foundation. Every gesture of support is a sign of empathy.
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Initiators

“Providing help is a question of attitude, not guilt."
Anders Holte, Member of the Foundation Board

In 2015, the Federal Councillor Alain Berset convened a round table. Under the leadership of the former Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger, representatives from business and politics sat down together. Their goal: to find a solution in order to support those affected and their relatives quickly and fairly. After analysing the initial situation, the participants proposed the establishment of the foundation Compensation Fund for Asbestos Victims, also known as the EFA Foundation, in December 2016. It began its work a few months later.

“With the EFA Foundation, we have created an instrument that works. Now we have to finance it. We can only appeal to the solidarity of the business community here, so that together we can reach our goal and continue to provide financial support to asbestos victims in the future. There is no statute of limitations when it comes to responsibility.” Urs Berger, President of the Foundation Board

You too can support the work of the EFA Foundation. Donate now.
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Felix Brunner 50 CHF
Anonymous 225 CHF
Anthony Ugo, Solothurn 50 CHF
Pasquale De Pascali, Bützberg 50 CHF
Jörg Gschwind 50 CHF
Hösli 50 CHF
Anonymous 300 CHF
Hedwig Berger 265 CHF
Anonymous 160 CHF
Anonymous 10 CHF
Marion Schmitz 100 CHF
Pascal Jenny 100 CHF
Karl Müller 160 CHF
Bernhard und Esther Hotz 145 CHF
Vermittelt durch Swisscom 815 CHF
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