• Tunisia gets $51M AFD loan to modernize civil protection

• Project includes AI-powered ops rooms, drones, and rescue units

• New training school, digitization align with national tech strategy

Tunisia will receive a 150 million dinar (about $51 million) loan from the French Development Agency (AFD) to modernize its civil protection system. The project, outlined on a radio program by Commander Khalil Mchari, head of statistics and operational support at the National Civil Protection Office, is built on four pillars.

First, the emergency number 198 will be digitized with the creation of 24 operation rooms equipped with artificial intelligence tools to quickly locate incidents and optimize response routes. Next, the project will acquire new equipment, including robots for handling toxic or radioactive substances and drones to enhance field operations.

A second specialized unit will also be established in El Jem in the Mahdia governorate to improve coverage in the southern part of the country. It will be supported by light search and rescue teams, each composed of 20 experts and strategically distributed across the territory. Finally, a training school that meets international standards will be built in Zriba to complement the existing infrastructure in Djebel Jelloud, preparing future search, rescue, and diving responders.

Central and technical steering committees have been formed to closely monitor the project, which aims to enhance the operational effectiveness of Tunisia's civil protection system and bring it up to international standards. Its implementation is expected to span several years, with an anticipated impact on public safety and the country's resilience to natural disasters, industrial accidents, and other emergencies.

The project is also part of the national digital transformation strategy, whose pillars were laid out in November 2024 by Minister of Communication Technologies Sofiene Hemissi. A key element of this strategy is the digitization of public and administrative services.

According to the United Nations Department of Social Affairs (UN DESA), Tunisia is a leader in this area in Africa. In 2024, the country scored 0.6935 out of 1 on the global E-Government Development Index (EGDI), which is above the continental average of 0.4247 and the global average of 0.6382.

Adoni Conrad Quenum