Sub-human prison conditions in Uganda

It is known that inhuman conditions define prisons in many African countries. In Uganda , the story is not different. A recent revelation of "hard life" in Ugandan prisons adds weight to this assertion and highlights the need for a complete overhaul of the country's criminal justice system.

On 14 July 2011, Human Rights Watch released a report about deplorable prison conditions in Uganda. The organization said the treatment of prisoners in some of Uganda's prisons "amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and even torture."

The 80-page report is based on visits by Human Rights Watch researchers to 16 prisons - where "prisoners often sleep on one shoulder, packed together so that they can only shift if an entire row agrees to roll at once."

Human Rights Watch interviewed 164 prisoners and 30 prison officers between November 2010 and March 2011.

The report reveals that Uganda's prisoners face inhuman conditions, including, but not limited to the following:

• Forced hard labor for the benefit of prison staff and private land owners.
• Brutal beatings by wardens and katikkiros (prisoners with disciplinary authority).
• Overcrowding (all categories of prisoners are mixed and "squeezed like iron sheets").
• Deprivation of food and nutrition.
• Insufficient water (prisoners sometimes drink stagnant water).
• Isolation in cells ranging from one meter by one meter to four meters by five meters in size; with a bucket for a toilet.
• Insufficient health care for prisoners, including pregnant inmates and those infected with HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

To say the least, the report shines the spotlight on a broken criminal justice system that locks away, in sub-human conditions, individuals, many of whom have not been convicted of a crime or had a day in court.

The disturbing report is titled "Even Dead Bodies Must Work."

It is worth mentioning that the title of the report mirrors the exact words of a warden to sick prisoners in Uganda's Muduuma Prison.

According to the report (see map on page iii), Human Rights Watch visited prisons and reception centers in Fort Portal in western Uganda, Masaka in central Uganda, Jinja in eastern Uganda, Muinaina, Butuntumura, Mutufu, Masafu, Bubukwanga, Kitalya and Kampala, the largest city and capital of Uganda.

The government of Uganda should implement the recommendations put forward by Human Rights Watch in page 5-6 of the report, so as to restore the basic rights of prisoners.

*Photo: Source.

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Nadja Benaissa: Sentenced for spreading HIV?

You've probably heard about Nadja Benaissa, a 28-year-old German pop star who was recently slammed with a 2-year suspended sentence for infecting a former partner with HIV. Nadja Benaissa was dragged to court on accusations of failing to inform her lovers that she was HIV positive. She faced up to 10 years imprisonment, but a German court tampered justice with mercy because the celebrity confessed and showed remorse.

Nadja Benaissa was arrested in April 2009 and charged with causing bodily harm by having unprotected sex without telling her partners that she was HIV positive. On August 26, 2010, the court found Nadja Benaissa guilty of causing "grievous bodily harm" and "attempted bodily harm." Nadja denied to have deliberately infected her former partner who contracted HIV during their relationship.

This verdict has sparked criticism from AIDS organisations. Many argue that Nadja Benaissa has been unfairly treated and stigmatized. Others argue that "safe sex" is the responsibility of everyone involved in a relationship; not the sole responsibility of the infected partner.

I sympathise with Nadja Benaissa because she discovered that she was HIV positive when she was only 16 years old and pregnant, and kept the infection secret to protect her child. But in the interest of public health, I concur with the verdict of the court.

Practicing protected sex is the responsibility of everyone involved in a relationship, but mindful of the high risk of transmitting HIV, Nadja should have abstained from [unprotected] sex or disclosed her HIV status to her partners. Perhaps, such a disclosure would have discouraged her former partners from recklessly participating in unprotected sex.

It is worth mentioning that Nadja Benaissa infected one of her partners and one remains free of HIV. The court ordered her to do 300 hours of community service (possibly helping people with HIV).

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Free HIV Tests for Immigrants in Finland

The Finnish AIDS Council offered free HIV tests for immigrants and foreigners in Oulu and Helsinki, Finland on Monday April 12, 2010. The tests were anonymous and no prior time-booking was required - this means you could just walk into one of the Council's facilities and get tested. Results were available in 15 minutes. No doubt, free HIV tests for immigrants is good news! But, one question remains unanswered - why was the HIV testing explicitly reserved for immigrants?

In Finland, according to Helsinki Times - there are about 500 to 1,000 people infected with HIV, but are unaware of the infection. Mindful of the fact that the later the diagnosis, the less effective the treatment, HIV testing should be a matter of urgency! Common sense tells you that it is important for you to know your HIV status, so that you can commence treatment as soon as possible - if you are infected.

Correct me if I am wrong - every individual is vulnerable to HIV; not just immigrants. Limiting free HIV tests to immigrants and foreigners in Finland somehow sends across a different message. Are immigrants more vulnerable? Why should the Council target a particular group for HIV testing?

Has every Finnish citizen already been tested?

According to the National Institute for Health and Welfare, in 2009, there were 180 HIV cases in Finland, out of which 82 were foreigners. Could this be the cause for concern?

Before you jump into any conclusions, note that there are about 2,600 confirmed HIV infected persons in Finland and Finnish citizens account for more than half - about 1,800 of the confirmed cases.

As you'd expect, 80% of the confirmed cases in Finland were sexually transmitted.

Make no mistake about it - free HIV test for immigrants in Finland is a good idea. However, the goal of the free tests should be to identify and support immigrants infected with HIV. It would be dehumanizing if the motive is simply to obtain statistics; statistics that would further polarize the on-going immigration debate - which is already in a sorry-state, and expose immigrants to more discrimination and unequal treatment.

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Alarming Rate of Maternal Deaths in the U.S.

You've probably listened to or participated in the highly polarized U.S. health care debate. While many Americans are more concerned about who will pay for the $940 billion health care bill that is designed to save the lives of millions of struggling Americans, human rights activists and organizations worldwide are alarmed by the broken health care system and the alarming rate of maternal deaths in the U.S. It is no secret that the U.S. health care system engineers the death of millions of Americans from pregnancy-related complications, child birth complications and other preventable diseases. America might be the richest country on the planet, but the alarming rate of maternal deaths in the U.S. is not very different from the rate of maternal deaths registered in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Human rights group - Amnesty International, in a recent report - Deadly Delivery: The Maternity Health Care Crisis in the USA, issued on 5 March 2010 revealed that women in the U.S. face a greater risk of dying from pregnancy-related complications than women in 40 other countries. The report notes with dismay, that a woman in the U.S. has a five times greater chance of dying in child birth than a woman in Greece, three times greater chance of dying in child birth than a woman in Spain and four times greater chance of dying than a woman in Germany. Even more alarming is the fact that more than two women die DAILY in the U.S. from pregnancy-related complications. Yes! It's that bad!

At this point, you must be outraged by the aforementioned statistics, but the prevalence of discrimination in the U.S. health care system is even more outrageous and dumbfounding. Minority women - Native Americans, African Americans, Immigrants and women who speak little English face a greater risk of dying in child birth and pregnancy related complications. It's worth highlighting that black women are nearly four times likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than white women - in America.

The report by Amnesty International documents the case of a 33 years old African-American woman - Inamarie Stith-Rouse. She arrived at a hospital in Boston Massachusetts in June 2003, pregnant. She underwent an emergency cesarean section and later went into a coma. She died four days later; living behind a healthy baby girl. Why did she die?

Her husband - Andre Rouse told Amnesty International that:

"She started to complain of shortness of breath. I couldn't find the doctor. They kept paging her but she wasn't around. The oxygen machine kept beeping.... No one was taking it seriously..."

Andre told Amnesty International that he felt race played a part in the hospital staff's lack of response.

White women in the U.S. have a mortality rate of 9.5 per 100,000 pregnancies and African-American women - 32.7 per 100,000 pregnancies. As reported by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

What are your thoughts? Do African-Americans and other minority groups face discrimination in the health care system in the U.S.? Have you faced any form of discrimination?

Does gender, race, ethnicity, immigration or other status affect access to health care in the U.S.?

You'd agree that the alarming rate of maternity deaths in the U.S. and the alleged discrimination in the health care system is a cause for concern. America is purportedly the leader of the "free world" and the government has an obligation to ensure quality health care - without discrimination of any kind, to all.

The U.S health care system has been a failure for decades; this explains why you should welcome the historic health care reform bill that was passed by the U.S Congress. Many have kicked against the bill, but have no doubt - the bill (which is now law) would go a long way to guarantee the right to life and health care for millions of struggling Americans. Perhaps it will also reduce the alarming rate of maternal deaths in the U.S.

By the way, "socialized" health care systems like those in place in Scandinavian countries have proven to be highly successful. Don't you think?

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