The regional summit “Only one health – a sure future” opened on Saturday June 14, 2025 at the Diplomatic Academy of Tunis, bringing together ministers of health, agriculture and the environment from 18 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Representatives of international organizations such as WHO, FAO, OMSA and UNEP also take part in the work.
During the opening, Mustapha Ferjani, Tunisian Minister of Health, underlined the need for joint action to meet the major challenges represented by epidemics, resistance to antibiotics and climate change. He notably said: “No ministry can face these threats alone”.
For his part, Ezzedine Ben Cheikh, Minister of Agriculture, alerted to the risks linked to diseases of animal origin, insisting on the importance of a reinforced collaboration between the sectors concerned. In addition, Habib Obeid, Minister of the Environment, recalled that the Tunisian Constitution guarantees the right to a healthy environment. He thus insisted on the need for an integrated approach to preserve the balance between human health and ecosystems.
Organized over two days, this summit aims to materialize the “single health” approach, in particular by encouraging the coordination of policies, the sharing of data and the implementation of common prevention projects. In short, this initiative meets the health and environmental challenges that strengthen and intertwine.
