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Tunisian doctors sound alarm on health system collapse

Tunisian doctors are emigrating in increasing numbers in search of adequate pay and facilities, training, and good work conditions, threatening the ability of the country's health care system to deliver services.
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TUNIS, Tunisia — Ons Zouiten, a dentist, decided to leave Tunisia for Paris in 2008 to upgrade his credentials to include dental implants and periodontal plastic surgery. His wife, Iman, joined him in 2011, and they settled permanently in Paris. Zouiten told Al-Monitor that he had moved to Europe because he could not pursue further training or studies in Tunisia because of the lack of financial and facility resources at local faculties of medicine.

“When I first traveled, I did not think it would be permanent and that I would settle in France,” Zouiten said, speaking by phone. “I wanted to go back to Tunisia, but when I completed my studies, I noticed a huge difference between work conditions in Paris and Tunisia in terms of salary, as doctors in Tunisia earn less and can barely make ends meet between the clinic’s rent and medical appliances, especially in the country's central provinces. I had a more promising professional and family outlook in France, and I decided to stay. I still visit Tunisia regularly to provide professional training to dentists in dental implants.”

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