Capacity building in the field of public health in Tunisia: processes and challenges

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Capacity building activities between 3 Tunisian Medical Faculties (University of Sfax, University of Tunis el Manar and University of Sousse) and 3 European Universities (Babes-Bolyai University, University of Southern Denmark and Trnava University) began in 2017 in the framework of an Erasmus+ project. The aim of the collaboration is threefold: first, Tunisian partners were assisted in developing the infrastructure of the Centre for Evidence into Health Policy (C4EHP); second, EU- Partners delivered the Research into Policy training programme with 3 modules: public health research methods, evidence-based policymaking and health promotion policies. The program consisted of train-the-trainer and train-the-trainee sessions; third, partners are continuously working on strengthening the collaboration between the academic and non-academic sectors in the field of public health. Lessons learnt Developing the C4EHP contributed to the official recognition of the research structure in the partner Universities. The challenges faced were administrative and legislative national procedures and delays in the equipment delivery and instalment. The train-the-trainer sessions empowered the 18 Tunisian participants to acknowledge their importance in the development of the public health field. Knowledge transfer faced challenges due to differences in the culture and working process, adhering to deadlines, communicating via email as well as due to language barriers. The capacities were, however, strengthened when the trainers started teaching themselves and delivered the train-the-trainee sessions. We observed a level of distrust from the non-academic sector due to previous international projects, unrelated with the current project or implementation team, and which had elicited little to no impact. Development of local collaboration between academic and non-academic sectors needs to be explored deeper.