Focus on HIV in prisons vital to end AIDS
WHO - "Globally, more than 11 million people were incarcerated in prisons in 2016. Over-represented among this population are the people most vulnerable to HIV, including people who use drugs, sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, and others who are most marginalized in communities.
Prisoners are disproportionately affected by HIV, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and mental health issues. Despite this fact, comprehensive health services are rarely available within prisons.
Effective linkages between prisons and community health services are vital, as many people are transferred from one prison to another and/or are incarcerated repeatedly. Such linkages are particularly important to minimize the risk of interruptions in their access to essential health services, when they move from the community into prison or when they are released from prison back into the community.
The risk of treatment interruption poses both an individual and public health threat for those prisoners with HIV, tuberculosis and/or viral hepatitis. [...]
Since 2016, the Uganda Prisons Service, in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been implementing a project that demonstrates how HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be delivered and scaled up in prison settings.[...] The project focuses on creating and improving linkages between prisons, and between prisons and communities, so that prisoners and staff can receive HIV treatment without interruption. [...]
Attaining the global targets to end HIV as a public health threat will require improved health care, particularly HIV services within prisons where HIV risks and rates are high. Good linkages and collaboration between prisons and broader health services in countries are essential" (Photo:Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade/flickr, CC BY 2.0).