Introduction to Tunisia
Tunisia is a country located in North Africa with Tunis as the capital city and a population of 11.7 million. Hosting the El Jem, one of the most ancient and largest amphitheatres, and over 700 monuments in the Medina of Tunis, Tunisia has many UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is a centre of Islamic activities.
The revolution in Tunisia sparked the 2011 Arab Spring, transforming the entire region. Ever since, there has been a noticeable growth in numerous sectors however, there have also been drastic social and health inequalities between rural and urban areas.
Unemployment rates remain high and there is a lack of economic opportunities, resulting in an increase in the number of Tunisians fleeing the country. Tunisia itself hosts temporary migrant populations, as it is a transit country for migrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.
As a result, there are currently 4,720 refugees and asylum seekers in the country. Migrants face protection
issues such as human trafficking, and have restricted access to healthcare services, shelter, and employment. In particular, migrants arriving from Libya are said to have suffered abuse and violence during their journey to Tunisia and need psychosocial support upon arrival.
The large refugee and migrant populations have put an additional strain on resources and many face limited access to food, safe water and sanitation, schools, and health services. This further strains the relations between host and refugee populations, resulting in increased counts of violence and protests.
Why do the people of Tunisia need your support?
For people across Tunisia, life is incredibly challenging:
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The unemployment rate in Tunisia is 16.69%, an increase from previous years (Statista, 2021)
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Only 94% of Tunisians have access to safe drinking water and 90% in rural areas (Reuters, 2019)
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The 2020 youth unemployment rate for females is 35.2% and 33.7% for males (Statista, 2021)Tunisia has a total of 718,498 coronavirus cases (Worldometer, 2021)
Islamic Relief in Tunisia
Islamic Relief started its work in Tunisia in 2011, providing emergency support in the face of the revolution. With a main office in Tunis and operations running in Jendouba, El Kef, Beja, Medenine, Tataouine and Sfax, Islamic Relief Canada provides disaster risk reduction, protection, health services, and educational support.
In the past, we provided winter-related items and essential food items, rehabilitated latrines in schools, improved the protection of refugee populations, and responded with emergency Covid-19 relief. Our Covid-19 relief provided public hospitals with intensive care beds, ventilators, syringe pump stations, monitors, lab machines, and oxygen concentrators to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Recent development efforts included improving hygiene and education practices among rural school children, empowering women through income generation training and awareness sessions, and providing education, psychosocial support and basic health services to Libyan refugees.
Our extensive development efforts in empowering women and enlightening them about their rights and capabilities in Tunisia provided production tools and training and marketing support to 6 women groups and cooperatives. All with the purpose of empowering women to create income generating activities.
An additional aspect of this project was raising awareness amongst rural women, with the support of local Health Caravans. Teams of doctors, midwives and nurses traveled to rural communities to conduct awareness sessions on reproductive health, women's basic rights, gender-based violence and first aid techniques to women, while administering medical care.