Prisoners’ health

The deplorable conditions that prisoners are kept in our jails has long had an adverse impact on their health due to the rapid transfer of communicable diseases among them. The Punjab government has now finally arisen from their deep slumber and initiated the medical screening of around 55,000 prisoners in Adiala Jail. Following this, the plan is to extend the same to other 43 jails across the province in a bid to stop the spread of dangerous diseases.

Prisoners will be tested for Aids, hepatitis, TB, diabetes and blood pressure, and will also be given relevant treatment and vaccination in case of any diagnosis. While this is a step in the right direction, there is a long way to go in order to revamp the prison system across the province. This alone might help those currently suffering from health issues but is by no means a proper solution. Officials must again be reminded that such remedial measures are merely temporary fixes. What is instead needed is a change in the overall system. This means mainstreaming prisoners’ rights, rebuilding dilapidated infrastructure, ensuring proper nutrition and providing basic sanitary equipment. All this must be done to improve the quality of life for prisoners in order to uphold human dignity and prevent the transmission of harmful diseases. One-time treatment will be less effective and an influx of prisoners might bring in more diseases. Therefore, it is also advisable to set up a screening system for new prisoners in order to ascertain beforehand if they suffer from any disease.

This is indeed a laborious task but one that the government must move forward with as prisons remain overcrowded and in a shambles — meaning a high change of disease transmission. Separate attention must be given to senior citizens and females as they may require specialised care.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2023.

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