It also improves the ease with which infections can spread. These conditions could lead to increased levels of stress, which compromises the immune system. Prisoners may have to sleep seated or in shifts. Our research found some prisons struggling to cope with populations up to nine times their designed capacity. The number of people in prisons worldwide has increased by 10% since 2004. Prisoner living openly with HIV, Malawi Overcrowding & hygiene "The radio says we need different types of nutritious foods but we don't get them in here!" Meals lack the variety needed to promote good health – with no additional provision for prisoners using ART. Food is sometimes traded for sexual favours. Resource challenges in delivering nutritious meals mean that it is not unusual for prisoners to receive just one meal per day. However, research shows that the majority of prisoners do not have adequate access to food of good nutritional value. So it is of grave importance that people living with HIV, and receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in prison have access to an adequate, healthy diet. Malnutrition impairs the immune system, speeding up the progression of HIV to AIDS. It shows that challenges faced by incarcerated people include: Malnutrition It reveals prisons to be ‘breeding grounds’ for infection and provides a baseline against which we will measure the impact of our programme. VSO’s research report into the status quo in prisons across Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe was concluded in June this year. Prison farms help address poor nutrition for inmates A perfect storm for poor health By working together, we can resolve some of the most pressing health challenges. This is happening through a joint programme between VSO’s Regional HIV and AIDS Initiative in Southern Africa (RHAISA) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) - with the engagement of stakeholders. We will restore health and dignity of prison populations in Southern Africa over a period of nine years. Virtually all prisoners will return to their communities, many within a few months to a year – so it is vital to see prison health as a public health issue. The prevalence of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, hepatitis B and C and TB in prison populations is 2 to 10 times as high, and in some cases up to 50 times as high, as in the general population. Improving prison health vital to protecting public healthĮach year over 30 million men and women spend time in prisons and other closed settings. Research reveals the extent of the threats we face – and informs our vital work addressing them. We cannot hope to end high levels of these diseases across the region without addressing prison health. Overcrowding, lack of resources and challenges providing decent nutrition and rehabilitation make them ‘incubators’ for HIV and tuberculosis (TB), with infection rates twice as high as in the general population. The situation in prisons across Southern Africa has been described as ‘dire’. Programmes include supporting care centres for children within prison complexes Female inmates in Zimbabwe still look after their children despite incarceration.
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