Healthcare system: a thought

13/07/2024, London UK

“Let’s think” Breakfast Club 

Healthcare system: a thought

“Tunisia’s healthcare system is probably the most up to date in Africa, almost as good as some European countries”, this is how the Tunisian healthcare system is presented to the international community in the Expat Financial website. Serious infectious diseases like tetanus, polio and measles have been eradicated. We have a national program to treat and screen for tuberculosis and patient living with HIV also receive the best possible care. 

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Tunisia is fulfilling 81.8% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income. When looking at the right to health with respect to children, Tunisia achieves 96.4% of what is expected based on its current income. With regard to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves 96.5% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. 

It is a common belief that Tunisia’s healthcare is a national treasure that we all should protect and take care of. Unfortunately, we have all witnessed and heard stories about the challenges facing healthcare professionals and jeopardizing all the achievements we have established so far, especially in the public sector. This affects not only the quality of care and the access to treatment, but also the safety of both professionals and patients. 

Multiple efforts are deployed on a large scale to restore what the last decades have induced, all within the available ressources. To name few initiatives: the Government is rethinking the healthcare structure and training a more solid first line professionals by creating a “family Medicine” pathway - similar to General Practitioners in the UK, these professionals would be at the centre of care which would help relieve the burden on bigger hospitals and ensure easier access to healthcare in rural areas. 

In addition to that, we are witnessing collective efforts to introduce digital equipment to public hospitals. While this is still limited by resources and legislation (the law imposes official documents to be on paper form), several hospitals are making the best use of technology to smoothen communication between departments and better monitor treatment distribution. 

As a group of Tunisians interested in contributing to healthcare improvement, we recognise that there is still much to do. Although we are aware that we have no power over resources, legislation or insurance system, we believe that we can contribute through small actions that can help the public and the professionals make the best use of this National treasure: 

• Start by creating a community of people interested in Healthcare in Tunisia. This will be the birthplace of ideas where we will exchange experience and plant seeds for our projects to grow 
• Try to connect with decision makers to see what has already been in place and how/if we can help with that regard
• Offer digital support: On a department or a hospital scale, try to implement more digital resources: some examples would include creating apps for guidelines or setting up Audits or helping a motivated senior doctor to supervise a medical thesis testing a digital resource 

When we manage to raise awareness among the public and the professionals that this institution is ours to protect and to nourish, when we all work together to bridge the gap between what we have and what we wish to see, we are confident that the healthcare system in Tunisia will come to know brighter days.

Many thanks to Chourouk, Nourchene, Yahya and Zohra 

for the breeze of hope you added to the conversation.

Rym Abida, Atuge Uk