Tunisian prisons lack equipment and medical staff. The country has about 15 state-qualified nurses working in prisons. The authorities call on 400 prison officers, trained for three months by the Military Medical School, to assist them.
There are also nursing assistants. Some of them are seconded from the civil service, while others are part of the prison’s staff. Prisoners may act as nursing assistants.[^manual]

The medical unit of Mornaguia prison has better infrastructure. The number of health personnel remains insufficient. In January 2023, the Observatory of Rights and Freedoms reported that the prisoners at Mornaguia suffered from a lack of medical care and medication.

People arriving with a prescription must receive medical treatment without delay. In the absence of a prescription, the prison doctor decides on the treatment. The prisoner is then examined by a medical specialist.
Any treatment based on psychotropic drugs must be specifically prescribed by a specialist doctor.[^manual1]
Incarcerated people do not have the opportunity to consult a doctor of their choice.
A prisoner is drawing attention to access to health care, stating that she has only received painkillers to treat her health problems, despite having trouble moving about and sitting.

The medication is free. There are no procedures governing their distribution. In practice, they are administered in diluted form in a vial. The patient’s name or file number is written on the bottle. The pharmacological properties may be altered by this procedure.¹

Hospitalisation is subject to a request from the prison doctor. The prisoner is handcuffed during their transfer. A guard is present at all times during hospitalisation. The patient is handcuffed to his bed, except when they are being examined. The prisoner is required to leave the bathroom door “ajar” each time they use it.¹

People with tuberculosis are isolated from the rest of the prison population. They are placed in dedicated sections.

[COVID-19 epidemic / 2020-2022]

In 2020, the penal administration announced hygiene measure strengthening in prisons. The administration is planning for sterilization operations, the purchase of thermal cameras, and the creation of isolation cells. Newcomers are being examined in full before being placed in the cells. Special visiting rooms (allowing direct contact between prisoner and visitor) were suspended until further notice. The possibility of providing food parcels made by families (baskets) is limited. The administration is planning for the implementation of awareness and information campaigns for prisons and prison staff on appropriate preventive measures.
In 2021, the authorities allocated seven new units for incoming prisoners. The head of the National Authority against Torture stated that health protocols were not respected in prisons. He pointed to the lack of distancing and mask wearing and said that the facilities had become a hotbed of infection due to transfers between courts and prisons.

Persons suffering from mental illnesses are not held in specific facilities. They are incarcerated under the same conditions as any other prisoner.¹ Prisoners and staff report serious problems such as suicides, self-harm and assaults. Care is mainly limited to the distribution of psychotropic drugs.

No special monitoring or treatment is provided for prisoners with addictions. The use of psychotropic drugs and narcotic products is widespread in prisons.