Tunisia

This north African country, which borders Algeria to the west, and Libya to the east, was a part of the Ottoman Empire administered by the Bey of Tunis. In 1883 it became a French protectorate, being occupied by the Axis powers from 1940 until 1943. It then returned to French rule and became independent on March 20, 1956. It has a population of 9,925,000 (2003), and has 70 doctors and 286 nurses per 100,000 people.

During the period of Ottoman rule, Tunis was a wealthy city, and a center of great learning. Some doctors did use the work of the Arab surgeon Avicenna (980–1037), but these facilities were only available to the elite. During French colonial rule, healthcare service for the European population, and the local elite was relatively good, although many of the Arabs were unable to get treatment in hospitals. The Institut Pasteur de Tunis (“Pasteur Institute of Tunis”) was founded in 1893.

With independence, the new Tunisian government significantly increased the expenditure on healthcare services, and gradually introduced the National Social Security Fund which helps provide benefits when people were sick, women required maternity leave, or in case of death or retirement. Healthcare was generally provided at a local level, but there are still shortages in some prescription medicines, although pharmacies are well-stocked with basic products. Although doctors in the country were traditionally trained in France, the University of Science, Technology and Medicine of Tunis (University of Tunis II) was refounded in 1988 from existing faculties of medicine and science.

Most of the healthcare concerns have been connected with illnesses and conditions that arose from poor hygiene and sanitation, such as cholera, typhoid and tuberculosis. However major hygiene campaigns have resulted in the prevalence of cholera, typhoid and tuberculosis being massively reduced. Foreigners and tourists visiting the country tend to suffer most from sunburn and diarrhea.

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of people suffering from cancer, with the Association de Lutte Contre le Cancer (“Association for the Fight against Cancer”) was created by the Ministry of the Interior in 1987. It has since been renamed the Association Tunisienne Contre le Cancer (A.T.C.C.: “Tunisian Anti-Cancer Association”).