CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Alain Agboton, Senegal, March 1998
THEME = AIDS
International Prisons Observers (African Region)
held an international conference in Dakar, Senegal, from 16-18 February on AIDS.
(cf. ANB/BIA Number 342, Supplement page VI)
How many HIV positive sufferers are there in African prisons? Not much in the way of information is available and little research has been conducted on this subject. What there is, is hard to find and certainly incomplete. Even lacking precise statistics, it's not hard to imagine that for the inmates, prisons are both breeding grounds for infection and death holes - places with a far higher level of infection than among the population at large. It seems that women prisoners are more affected than men. What's worse is that prisoners are being excluded from campaigns against AIDS. If ever there's people who need to be protected, it's the prison population because of their living conditions and promiscuity!
The Dakar conference attempted to heighten awareness of the problem of AIDS in prisons, among all interested and involved parties, especially among decision-making bodies and those responsible for carrying out such decisions. Also, to elaborate a policy for getting to grips with the problem.
Overpopulation in the prisons is a cause of AIDS. This is a common problem in African prisons (and let's admit it, not only in African prisons). The prison population is 323% higher than prison population estimates at any time, taking into account the accommodation available. Abidjan's Central Prison is a typical example. Promiscuity often brings with it violence, tension, sexual abuse and other problems. Drug addiction also causes a multiplicity of problems but perhaps to a lesser degree.
A government minister points out: "The existence of AIDS in prison is obviously extremely serious, for the virus is easily passed on, and once the prisoners are free, they contaminate their partners at home. Regular screening for the virus as a preventive measure is neither automatic nor systematic, neither is it even thought of as being necessary. The whole question of sexual matters in prison is usually passed over in silence. Homosexuality (taboo in most parts of Africa), is forbidden, and culprits are severely punished. Heterosexuality is not even allowed, and the prison authorities are often sensitive about the subject. With the result that the whole question of HIV infection is either unknown or unrecognized in the prisons.
Lack of adequate equipment and necessary medication adds to the complexity of what's happening, underlining the grim fact that most prisons are woefully lacking in medical care for the inmates. For example in Senegal, citizens through their taxes, pay about 6 CFA francs for a prisoner's medical treatment per day; not even the price of an aspirin! Yet, we all know the exorbitant cost of treating AIDS.
Other factors make the situation even worse. There's no attempt to separate the prisoners into different categories; prison personnel are not properly informed, neither are the prisoners who often come from the poorest sections of society. All in all, it's a revealing picture.
In the prisons, the use of condoms as a way of preventing infection, (one solution among others), is not well organised. Besides, it's known that this practice is against the principle, the philosophy and the way of living in Africa. South Africa is the only African country which has a policy towards this practice as the AIDS epidemic is very serious there. Research on results obtained still has to be done.
A few facts and figures, more or less recent, but generally inadequate, indicate that in 1987, in Burkina Faso, 2% of the prison population was HIV positive. In 1994, 20%-50% of Côte d'Ivoire's prison population was HIV positive; 6% in Ethiopia and 6% in Gabon. In 1997, 2.7% of Senegal's prison population was HIV positive, and 0.6% in Madagascar. In 1988, 0.6% of Mozambique's prison population was HIV positive. In France for example, the level of HIV infection among prisoners was ten times higher than the world average. Of the 30.6 million AIDS victims recorded throughout the world, two-thirds are in Africa.
Experts say you can't try and hide what's happening for ever, even if people don't seem ready to face facts. Some are pretty cynical about the whole business: "A prisoner with AIDS? That's a blessing. Why waste money trying to cure somebody whose going to die from the disease in any case. Might as well let him go... and thus provide more room in our already overcrowded prisons".
At the end of the conference, the 250 experts, doctors, prison personnel, and human rights representatives coming from 40 African countries and from the West, recommended the setting-up of a network to study the whole question, in order to get to grips with the problem and provide a springboard for action. Prevention is vital. It's important to set up an information network, working hand in hand with African leaders and those concerned.
Every prisoner has a right to have his/her health protected. In Senegal, prisoners' health is now the concern of the health department. The Senegalese authorities have decided to do everything possible to care for AIDS patients in their prisons, and prison infirmaries have now become health centres attached to health areas. Thus, chief medical officers and Prison Supervisory Authorities can take a direct and practical interest in prisons. Anything dealing with the prisoners' health is part of their responsibility and they can take appropriate action in this area whenever necessary. Every prisoner has his rights and dignity - these must be respected, defended and protected. This includes the right to privacy and confidentiality when it concerns medical matters.
In addition to all the specific questions concerning prisoners, all the specialists are clear that if the campaign to eradicate AIDS in prison is to meet with any success, all those involved in the campaign have got to pull together.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1998 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement