HIV/Aids in prisons can be better managed once its prevalence has been ascertained by a national survey, the Department of Correctional Services said on Wednesday.
”We have started and are in the preparation phases, with a task team and steering committee established,” said Gustav Wilson, director of HIV/Aids at Correctional Services.
The prevalence of HIV/Aids will be ascertained by extrapolation from a sample.
The 2003/04 annual report of the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons, described HIV/Aids in prisons as a ”major problem”.
The report noted that about 58% of prisoners were men below the age of 30, who were more sexually active and prone to take risks than older men.
The report found that natural deaths were rising and the increase could be ”fairly attributed” to HIV/Aids and the opportunistic diseases that followed. Natural deaths rose by 584% from 1995 to 2000, with 1 087 deaths in 2000 and 1 683 in 2003.
Wilson said the department was committed to fighting the pandemic in prisons, and seven months ago set up a dedicated Aids directorate.
The directorate, which recently received a $600 000 donation from the United States, had programmes focusing on care and support, prevention and treatment.
”We run awareness programmes inside prisons, and train offenders and staff as peer educators. We also have voluntary counselling,” said Wilson.
He said the programme would be sustainable, with ”master peer educators” trained, leading to a ”cascade down” effect to other prisons.
Wilson said condoms were readily available in all prisons.
Asked about the availability of anti-retrovirals (ARVs) to prisoners who had been raped or sodomised, Wilson said the department had a draft protocol for post-exposure prophylaxis.
”This consisted of a starter pack, with ARVs, which is given to a person exposed to HIV, whether a staff member injured on duty or an offender who has been raped or violently injured.”
Wilson said offenders were also afforded access to treatment under the protocols of the Department of Health. He said Correctional Services was conducting a baseline study of the number of offenders currently using ARVs in prisons, with preliminary results expected in early December.
Wilson said the department’s policy on HIV/Aids management did not provide for compulsory testing and segregation of those infected with the disease.
On the shortage of doctors, nurses and medicines, and with prisons overcrowded, Wilson said the department was advertising for medical professionals.
”It is quite a challenge to fill posts and we need to also look at incentives,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mark Heywood of the Aids Law Project, said that while the establishment of the directorate was to be commended, the recognition of the situation had come ”very late”.
Heywood said as increased mortality rates in prisons showed, there were critical challenges for the department on HIV prevention and treatment.
”If the department does not have a proper plan in place, they could be under a legal duty to release potentially thousands of prisoners who are in advanced stages of HIV,” he said.
Heywood also said a policy shift was necessary which would see health services at prisons fall under the Department of Health, and not under Correctional Services. – Sapa
Estimated worldwide HIV infections: 60 094 374