An mHealth program titled “Yezzi!” (“Enough!”) was launched in November 2015 featuring two-way SMS communication aimed at helping Tunisians quit using cigarettes and shisha. The program, developed in cooperation with WHO and ITU, is the first Be He@lthy Be Mobile undertaking in the North Africa and Middle Eastern region. Text messages will be sent at regular intervals, as well as in response to requests for information and help, and have been designed for different audiences -- adolescents, young adults, and middle-aged smokers -- in an effort to make the content as relevant and as effective as possible. The emphasis is on support during the first six months of smoking cessation, when the process is often most stressful and when relapses are most likely. The phone-based system is being backed by mass-media campaigns and other promotional channels.
Cigarette use is in the country is high. Self-reporting during a 2011 World Health Organization survey indicated that half the adult male population of Tunisia smokes. Expansion of the Ministry of Health’s cessation effort is anticipated, along with the creation of a larger portfolio of mHealth services to address other chronic health problems. An mDiabetes program is scheduled to begin in 2016.
