TUNIS, TUNISIA —
The health minister of Tunisia has resigned, following the deaths of 11 newborn babies within 24 hours at a hospital in Tunis, the capital.
Abdel-Raouf El-Sherif resigned Saturday.
The health ministry and state prosecutors have opened investigations into the mysterious deaths.
Tunisia’s pediatric association said in a Facebook post that the infants’ deaths may have been caused by an intravenous product.
The association also noted the “precarious conditions in which health professionals work.”
Tunisia once enjoyed a reputation for having one of the best public healthcare systems in North Africa.
Tunisia’s healthcare system, however, and other state services have been in decline since the overthrow of President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.
