Rights Of In-mates, Should Be Brought into play If HIV Prevalence in Uganda Prisons Is To Be Managed
Concern for a higher HIV Prevalence in prison settings calls for looking into what can be done to address this situation. Officials in Uganda are grappling with this very issue. Uganda has an in-mate population of 50,000 in 224 units and of these, over 2,000 inmates are living with HIV/AIDS. According to WHO, within the Uganda Prisons Service, only about 20% of prisons have health-care units, and less than 5% of these units provide comprehensive HIV services (including HIV testing, diagnosis, CD4 monitoring and onsite ART).
According to Human Rights Watch, "Prisoners are a case in point. The rates of HIV and tuberculosis in prisons are roughly double the rates in the country as a whole, yet prisoners are largely left out of treatment or prevention. When Robert, who is HIV-positive, was sent to prison, an officer simply told him, "fight on, complete the sentence, go home and get treatment". The prison would not provide him with anti-retrovirals."
Dailies and other forms of media have provided space to raise public's awareness on this matter. Buganda Broadcasting Services (BBS) run a segment on Uganda Prisons Service HIV Prevalence . For more see: BBS TV.
Isabirye et Al, 2013 in an article, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited titled: Scaling Up HIV Prevention Services Among Prisoners in Uganda - TASO Jjinja Experience, share many findings about Uganda's prison setting vis-a-vis HIV.
1. Sleeping arrangements: Overcrowding that impacts on how an individual can manage self care and manage personal space.
2. Self-care in general: Self care for those living with HIV and ARV adherence practices. As well as ensuring those without TB or HIV do not get it. This includes, food, hygiene, genital health and bodily integrity.
3. Focusing on being productive: Engagement in alternative use of time including schooling, learning new skills and focusing on a productive life after incarceration.
4. Stressing protection: In the event of sexual intercourse, there should be protective prophylactics available.
5. Access medicines: Ensure health services are accessible for all in-mates
6. Ensure safety and security: Ensure that prison settings are safe for both officers and in-mates at all times for their life and property.
In their findings, they argue that "some HIV services do not exist in most Ugandan prisons; few trained service providers cater for the HIV/AIDS needs of inmates in prison; transfer of the inmates to and from other units without supportive documentation makes monitoring of the progress difficult."
They recommended Uganda government to "upgrade and accredit prison health units to offer comprehensive HIV/AIDS services Policies that enforce the rights of inmates to health services should be rejuvenated. Increase funding to improve service delivery."
For further reading:
Source of pictures: WHO, Uganda Prison Services and CDC
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| Food is essential |
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| The kinds of medicines necessary |
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| The kinds of services necessary |
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