At the invitation of the Tunisian Directorate of Military Health, a U.S. delegation travelled to Tunisia to attend the first series of U.S.-Tunisian Bilateral Military Medical Meetings, October 26-28, 2009. The meetings were co-chaired by Colonel Major (Dr.) Jameleddine Manaa, head of the Cardio-Vascular Surgery and Organ Transplant Departments at the Tunisian Military Hospital, and Colonel (Dr.) Victor Folarin, deputy surgeon and chief, International Health Programs, U.S. Africa Command. The U.S. delegation included officials from the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) medical division, the Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP), and members of the Wyoming National Guard, the state partner of Tunisia. This event was an opportunity to gain a better understanding of Tunisian and U.S. military health service capabilities and to explore areas of bilateral interest in military health fields including:
Bilateral exchange of medical techniques, procedures and methodologies;
Interoperability and familiarization with current equipment and supplies;
Achieving clinical proficiency through exchanges and personnel training;
New proposals to improve bilateral military cooperation and strengthen the U.S. Tunisian military medical partnership. Topics discussed at the meetings included organ transplant, training in intensive care and aeronautical medicine, protection against emerging and reemerging diseases, nursing education, and U.S.-Tunisian medical field exercises. The Tunisians also presented their proposal to launch a U.S.-Tunisian bilateral cooperation project to establish a technological pole composed of specialized laboratories that would serve national and regional interests in the prevention and treatment of epidemic, poisoning, biological, chemical, nuclear and radiation risks. During the meetings, the Tunisian hosts organized visits for the U.S. delegation to several military medical research, treatment and educational facilities. According to U.S. Africa Command representatives, this visit offered the opportunity to see first-hand the level of excellence and expertise that Tunisia has attained in military medicine and the country's determination to continue to further its medical and health care achievements. At the event's closing, both parties expressed the desire to hold annual meetings to review cooperation progress and to continue to develop military medical exchanges.