The death of 12 infants at the government hospital, “Rabta”, in Tunis has shocked the Tunisian people and has been considered as a national disaster affecting the national security.
The human rights organizations and trade unions considered that this disaster confirms the scandals of transactions in corrupt and suspicious medicines, a corruption that is destroying the public health sector, as well as the deterioration and collapse of the infrastructure of government hospitals, the huge shortage of doctors and nurses and the lack of medicines and poor working conditions.
The civil society activists confirmed that what happened in the “Rabta” hospital is one of a series of other disasters experienced by the country that reflects an unprecedented collapse in the health system as this disaster coincided with the loss of many types of medicines, even the simple ones needed in daily life and with the use of expired imported medicines for heart disease.
In separate statements, these organizations called for the rescue of the public health sector in Tunisia, the opening of a transparent and serious investigation about the infants’ death incident and the accountability of officials and corrupt people.
The Ministry of Public Health confirmed in a communiqué the death of 11 infants. The Prime Minister, Yousef Al-Chahid, authorized the formation of a committee to investigate the incident after the resignation of the Minister of Health, in contrast, union sources confirmed that the number of deaths is much higher than the official figure, and that about 80 babies are fighting death after being fed with infected preparation that their bodies could not resist.
#death #babies #Tunisia #public_health_system
العربية 
English