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Tanzania: Prisoners in Danger
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The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
EDITORIAL
22 July 2008
Posted to the web 23 July 2008
Statistics revealed by deputy Home Affairs minister Mr Khamis Kagasheki in Parliament on Monday, help to show the magnitude of HIV/Aids infection in the country's prison system.
According to Mr Kagasheki, out of 3,556 inmates who undertook voluntary HIV/Aids screening in 2006, about 329 tested positive. They represented 9.2 per cent of all inmates involved in the exercise.
This gloomy situation is not unique to Tanzania. In Eastern Europe including Russia, and South African prisons, the virus is tearing "like a forest fire," in the words of WHO experts.
Kindled by a surge of in the use of contaminated liquid from heroin, the Aids epidemic has created all conditions of a disaster. The situation in Tanzania is not that serious yet. We believe the drug addiction problem is not that serious a problem in our prisons.
And although no research has been undertaken on the spread of the disease among inmates, we can safely say that rape is at least common in the Tanzanian prison system, a sign of sexual activity behind those high walls, and a harbinger of HIV/Aids.
We are afraid we can no longer pretend that Tanzanians will some how avoid the full force of the Aids epidemic when the infected inmates complete their terms only to take the virus onto the streets and villages.
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We urge for an in depth study on what is fueling the scourge in the prison system and see how it could be contained. Public input on strategies to fight the deadly disease is highly recommended.
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