In the context of parallel activities of the international Tokyo seminar for African development (TICAD 8) wich is hosted in Tunisia during the 27th and 28th of August 2022, the Minister of social affairs Mr.Malek Ezzahi and the Minister of health Mr.Ali Mrabet inaugurated on 26 August 2022 at the International Center for Studies, Research, Documentation and Training on Disability «Basma», the international conference on the theme «Innovation and population with Specific Needs».
The conference, organized mutually by the Ministry of social affairs and the ministry of health, aims to strenghen the new participatory approach in both social and health sectors and in particular scientific research in the disability field. It aims to facilitate and guarantee the social and economic integration of the category of people with specific needs and to relaunch the Tunisian-Japanese bilateral cooperation too.
Mr.Malek Ezzahi stated, during his speech, that the convening of this conference for the first time in an arab country specifically in Tunisia is an important and historic event that shows clearly the notoriety and trust that our country has on the international and African levels and specifically from Japan which holds a sustainable and ambitious development program for Africa for which all stakeholders should execute with the wished efficiency.
In the same register, The Minister insisted on the importance of seizing this opportunity to highlight the most important fields of this trilateral cooperation in the social sector and the strengthening of Japan’s technical support for the promotion of vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities. Citing as an example the program E-handicap, the Minister recounted by the occasion the place of new technologies in Tunisia as an important tool contributing to the promotion of this category.
The Minister of Social Affairs confirmed that the new social policy of Tunisia is based on the concept of the social state which promotes all social categories, especially those with specific needs and persons with disabilities.
 In this regard, he reaffirmed the will of the new Tunisian Republic to build genuine bonds of trust, referring to Chapter 54 of the new Constitution of the Tunisian Republic, which stipulated that "The State shall protect persons with disabilities from discrimination and shall take all measures to ensure their full integration into society."
He also called on all stakeholders to establish a new synergy to achieve the objectives of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development “TICAD 8” and the need to build on trilateral partnerships, (Japanese, African and Tunisian) in order to promote the capacities of African countries in terms of promising Human Capital and in order to value and exchange good practices.  

On the other side, the Minister of Health, Mr.Ali Mrabet insisted on his appreciation for the fruitful cooperation between the Ministries of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health in order to promote the reality of people with specific needs towards a better future. On occasion, he highlighted the role of Tunisian skills in all medical disciplines, particularly in terms of training expertise and scientific research.
Mr.Ali Mrabet took the opportunity to thank the Government of Japan for its continued support of Tunisia, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also indicated that the promotion of the health sector is a vector of priority in the implementation of the economic and social policies of the State, through a cooperative approach and joint actions aimed in particular at promoting services for the benefit of people with specific needs.

In conclusion, note that the Tunisian approach of the promotion of persons with disabilities is focused on basic principles of disability prevention within a health system developed and adapted to the needs of this category. In fact, Tunisia has a variety of cross-sectoral mechanisms adapted to the needs in order to respect the prerogatives and to improve the benefits provided, whether in the medical field, in health and safety programmes or in the field of Occupational medicine.