By Fana Peete
The prevalence of Aids in prisons is generally underestimated, because all
Aids-related deaths in prison are recorded only as tuberculosis (TB) or
pneumonia. Aids is excluded as the main cause. Published on the Web by IOL on 2004-03-17
This was according to a presentation made on Tuesday before the Jali Commission
at the Pretoria High Court by Yusuf Saloojee, on behalf of the Aids Law Project
and the Treatment Action Campaign.
Saloojee said 1 389 natural deaths in prisons were recorded for 2002 - an
increase of 647 percent when compared to 1995. He said the increase in the
prisoner population for the same period was 52 percent.
He said while the deaths were recorded as the result of TB or pneumonia, a
further investigation indicated that 90 percent to 95 percent of the deaths
could be attributed to Aids. He said this dramatic increase showed that
prisoners were particularly and increasingly likely to die of Aids.
Saloojee said the increase in prisoner population had
not made the situation any better, because overpopulation had led to poor health
care, poor nutrition, stress, violence and exposure to a higher concentration of
disease. Prisoners living with HIV and Aids were not expected to survive longer
than five years.
Saloojee said according to a report from a Durban prison, there were 2 600
registered HIV-positive cases, 136 prisoners with full-blown Aids and 2 897
new cases of TB in December 1999.
"Because prevalence statistics are not presently available, the data on the
number of natural deaths in prisons can be useful for understanding the real
impact of HIV and Aids on the prison population."
He told the commission that the length of incarceration was a significant
determining factor for HIV prevalence - adding that prisoners who had been
incarcerated for under two years were at the highest risk for HIV infection.
"This may reflect the prison sexual exploitation dynamic - where older,
established prisoners target younger, newly arrived prisoners for sexual
assault, exploitation and rape," said Saloojee.
It was estimated that by 2010, 45 000 prisoners a year would die of
Aids-related illnesses. He said this was because the Aids policy introduced in
1992 was never applied, because the separation of high-risk prisoners from
others was regarded as a violation of their rights.
© Independent Online 2004.
