Tunisia faces severe shortages of water, power, and food staples

Tunisia is facing severe shortages of electricity, water, and essential food items, raising concerns about the country’s economic stability and the protection of basic human rights. Rolling power outages by the state utility, STEG, have disrupted water pumping stations, hospitals, and households, particularly during extreme summer heat. Human Rights Watch reported that these failures undermined the right to health, noting that doctors have reported a rise in heat-related hospitalizations and deaths.

The Tunisian Young Doctors Association estimated that between 150 and 200 people died from heatstroke or medical equipment failure during recent heatwaves. While President Kais Saied has attributed the shortages to sabotage, critics and human rights groups argue the government has failed to provide transparent information or address the root causes, such as underinvestment in infrastructure and tight public finances.

In addition to utility failures, citizens are experiencing scarcity of basic goods including bottled water, vegetables, sugar, chicken, and eggs. To manage a widening trade deficit, authorities have implemented market controls and plans to “rationalize” imports, a move that mirrors economic policies used in neighboring Algeria to manage foreign-exchange constraints.