U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Air Forces Africa staff visited Tunis, Tunisia, September 12-17, 2011, in support of U.S. Embassy humanitarian assistance projects and initiatives to promote rural development in central Tunisia.

Lieutenant Colonel Wade Carmichael, AFRICOM humanitarian assistance and health activities program officer, joined members of the contracting office for U.S. Air Forces Africa, engineers, medical officers, and U.S. Embassy personnel to assess future and ongoing projects in Carthage, Kesra, Makthar, Saliana, Sfax, and Tunis.

Among the trip highlights, Carmichael said, was the contract signing for the Training Center for Rural Women in Makthar, which will provide basic hygiene, child and family healthcare, and vocational training to local women. The $500,000 training center will be managed by the Fondation pour le Dévelopement Communautaire (FTDC), a civil society organization that encourages regional development through local citizen participation. The project supports the Tunisian national strategy for development, job opportunities, and training in rural towns in central Tunisia.

The team also traveled to Sfax to conduct a proposal opening session for a $450,000 drug rehabilitation center extension, the objective of which is to continue to support initiatives to counter drug abuse and drug traffic related activities in Tunisia. The extension aims to increase the center's accommodation capabilities to handle more patients now that it is the only operating rehabilitation center in the country. According to the center's director, Tunisia has faced a significant increase of drug use after the revolution. Due to the reduction in size of Tunisia's police force, the nation has less capability to address drug-related issues and make as many arrests. The extension will allow the center to accommodate nearly double the number of patients seeking treatment.

During a visit to the Center for the Blind in Sidi Thabet, the team met with residents there who are receiving training geared to help them better assimilate into their communities. Training focuses on areas such as telephone operating, physical therapy, precision metal rod making, and how to use telephonic and internet devices.

At an HA site visit to an AIDS Prevention Center in El Menzah, the team toured the facilities and spoke with Doctor Ridah Kammoun, president of the AIDS Prevention Association in Tunis.

Prior to the contract signing ceremony on September 15, Carmichael and Ambassador Gordon Gray met with the governor of Siliana and discussed regional and local development, including the need for additional DOD/AFRICOM Humanitarian Assistance-funded programs and partnerships.

During the Ambassador's visit to Makthar, the 17th Air Force contracting officer and the builder signed the contract for the Makthar training center. Gray and the U.S. delegation traveled to the construction site to review construction plans for the new FTDC Training Center with Tunisian architect, Mohamed Remy Bouaziz, and the construction contractor Fathi Ncib, a resident from Makthar. Gray also toured the archeological sites and rich forest surroundings of the area and commented on the development potential that exists in Central Tunisia.