• The Tunisian government assigned Tunisie Télécom four core missions to digitise the national health system, including broadband connectivity, a sovereign cloud, artificial intelligence and a digital call centre.

• The project aims to address chronic shortages of healthcare staff and regional inequalities while strengthening data sovereignty and system resilience.

• Authorities now face execution risks after years of delayed digital health initiatives despite repeated strategic commitments.

The Tunisian government decided to accelerate the digitisation of the healthcare sector. On Monday, February 9, Health Minister Mustapha Ferjani met Lassâad Ben Dhiaf, the chief executive officer of state-owned operator Tunisie Télécom. The minister assigned Tunisie Télécom four missions.

The first mission covers high-speed broadband connectivity for all healthcare facilities, with a priority on frontline structures. The second mission covers the deployment of cloud solutions hosted entirely in Tunisia and accessible to healthcare and administrative institutions. The third mission covers the integration of artificial intelligence into health services. The fourth mission covers the creation of an advanced digital call centre.

Connecting all healthcare facilities, starting with frontline services

The Tunisian state expects improved care quality and patient safety by expanding internet access across healthcare facilities, particularly frontline centres. Connectivity represents a prerequisite for any digital health service.

Without reliable high-speed internet, digital tools cannot support patient referrals or reduce diagnostic delays, duplicated tests or hospital congestion. Connectivity enables telemedicine and remote medical expertise, which expands access to specialists, reduces costly travel and speeds up care, particularly in remote areas.

Connectivity also improves logistics through better monitoring of medicine, vaccine and medical supply inventories, which reduces shortages and waste. Faster and more reliable data transmission strengthens epidemiological surveillance, supports data-driven decision-making and improves crisis response capacity.

Health services hosted on a 100% Tunisian cloud

The government aims to strengthen data sovereignty by hosting digital health services on a cloud infrastructure fully located in Tunisia. Local hosting limits risks linked to extraterritorial regulations, foreign jurisdiction exposure and imposed contractual changes.

Domestic hosting simplifies audits, traceability, access control and encryption key management. Local infrastructure also allows clearer contractual rules on reversibility and subcontracting.

From an operational standpoint, a local cloud reduces latency and improves service continuity for telemedicine, electronic patient records and medical imaging. Reduced reliance on international connections also improves system reliability.

A properly designed architecture that includes redundancy, immutable backups, continuous monitoring and tested disaster recovery plans strengthens resilience for critical services. The model also supports local employment and innovation in analytics, artificial intelligence and public health, provided authorities enforce strict cybersecurity standards and robust data governance.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence represents a strategic lever to accelerate the modernisation of Tunisia’s healthcare system. AI tools can improve governance, efficiency and care quality in a system constrained by limited resources and regional disparities.

AI systems can consolidate currently fragmented data from healthcare facilities, the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) and national health programmes. Data consolidation enables reliable dashboards for informed planning, priority targeting, including the reduction of medical deserts, and accurate evaluation of ongoing reforms.

Automation can significantly reduce administrative workloads for healthcare professionals by handling data entry, procedure coding and appointment management. Time savings allow staff to focus more on patient care and reduce operational errors.

On the clinical side, AI tools can enhance patient safety and standardise practices. Diagnostic assistance, particularly in medical imaging, and drug interaction alerts can compensate for specialist shortages in certain regions and support general practitioners.

In public health, predictive analytics applied to Tunisian epidemiological data can improve crisis monitoring and early detection. Forecasting tools can also anticipate medicine demand and hospital bed needs, enabling faster and fairer interventions.

A digital call centre

The government plans to establish an advanced digital health call centre to guide patients more effectively. The centre aims to help citizens understand where to go, when to seek care and which procedures to follow.

Telephone access combined with SMS, messaging services and chatbots ensures inclusivity, particularly for populations less comfortable with digital tools or living far from healthcare facilities. Structured triage and intelligent routing reduce unnecessary travel, ease emergency room congestion and direct patients to the appropriate level of care, including primary care, specialists, maternity services and mental health support.

The system also strengthens public trust by delivering consistent and reliable information, especially during health crises.

A long-standing ambition

According to the report “Health Systems Review: The Post COVID-19 Situation in Tunisia”, published in March 2024, Tunisia remains below World Health Organization recommendations for healthcare workers per 10,000 inhabitants.

The report resulted from a collaboration between the Right to Health program of the Social and Economic Justice Unit at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, African Alliance and International Alert – Tunisia, with Skander Essafi as lead researcher.

The Covid-19 crisis exposed persistent structural weaknesses and reinforced state commitments to digital solutions. Authorities launched the Tunisie Digitale 2020 National Strategic Plan, which positioned digital health as a core pillar.

The strategy included projects such as a national health information system, electronic medical records and health cards to unify patient identity. Authorities also deployed telemedicine projects in northern, central and southern governorates to improve specialist access in remote areas. The government later announced the launch of a fully digital hospital, followed by plans to extend the model nationwide.

After the meeting with Tunisie Télécom’s chief executive, the health minister praised the operator’s technical and logistical support. Execution now represents the main challenge as authorities move from announcements to delivery.

This article was initially published in French by Muriel EDJO

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de BERRY QUENUM