Tunisian authorities failed to ensure an adequate supply of electricity and water during two months of extreme summer heat, undermining the right to health and endangering lives, Human Rights Watch said in a press release.
President Kais Saied blamed the shortages on sabotage, yet authorities failed to provide transparent information and instead cracked down on protesters.
Rolling power outages left hospitals and water pumping stations without electricity and households without running water, interrupted critical medical procedures, and contributed to a nationwide shortage of drinking water. Doctors and human rights groups have reported a rise in heat-related hospitalizations and deaths exacerbated by the cuts, including among detainees.
“Tunisians have spent one of the hottest summers on record in the dark and facing water shortages because President Saied’s government failed to ensure adequate access to electricity for millions of people, risking lives,” said Bassam Khawaja, deputy MENA director at HRW.
“Instead of blaming sabotage, the authorities should address the root causes of the failure and ensure that everyone, including detainees, has access to water, electricity, and methods for cooling.”
In July 2026, the second-hottest July since 1950, the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) reportedly imposed rotating outages due to inadequate capacity. Power outages were concentrated between 1 and 5 p.m., when air conditioning increased demand.
According to crowd-sourced data, outages lasted up to 12 hours in some extreme cases. In late August, a second wave led to cuts of up to two hours at a time in every region.
Tunisian authorities have not published transparent information about the impact of the outages. The Tunisian Young Doctors Association said between 150 and 200 people had died in July 2026 from heatstroke or medical equipment failure in the case of patients who depended on electrically powered medical equipment.
According to the Tunisian Young Doctors Association, emergency departments experienced an “unprecedented” rise in deaths and hospitalizations from heatstroke and high temperatures, including deaths of detainees. Local media reported several deaths after respirators in the victims’ homes stopped working.
The electricity crisis was foreseeable, and Tunisian authorities had an obligation to prepare for it, including by ensuring that essential services such as water supply and health care were not affected, Human Rights Watch said. The government’s mismanagement and failure to act preemptively compounded the harm.
Protests over water and electricity shortages have spread. Access to electricity is critical to ensuring other rights, including but not limited to health, housing, water, and education, and should be recognized as a distinct human right, Human Rights Watch said.
Tunisia has an obligation to ensure access to electricity and water, including within prisons and detention facilities. Article 48 of the Tunisian Constitution requires the state to provide drinking water to everyone on an equal basis.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights guarantees the right to an adequate standard of living and the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
For the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Tunisian government’s failure to provide basic services including safe drinking water and electricity violates the right to health under the African Charter.
“Tunisian authorities have known for years that the electricity grid was inadequate but failed to plan for rising demand and the risks of a scorching summer,” said HRW.
“Instead of prosecuting protesters, the government should publicly account for the failures of the electric grid, publicize transparent information including a death toll, and set out a clear plan to restore adequate electricity and water”, underlined the human rights watchdog.
