Ten years after the revolution in Tunisia that ended the rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, it is clear from the resurgence of street protests that while Tunisia has been praised for its progress on personal liberties and freedom of speech, the fulfilment of much-needed socio-economic rights still lags behind.
The right to health, affirmed in the constitution of 2014, is a prime example of this. The pandemic demonstrated the deepening inequalities in access to healthcare and social security services in the country.
There is an absence of strategy and resources, marked by the sparse funding provided to the ministry of health, which constitutes less than 6% of the state’s budget.
