PRISON HELL: HIV/AIDS Negative Ugandans Return from Prison Infected
Homosexuality is steadily taking root in Ugandan prisons where conjugal rights remain officially banned amongst inmates, a report by the country’s parliamentary committee on HIV/AIDS has indicated, presenting yet another episode of headaches for those responsible for the congested rehabilitation centres.
MPs on the committee have expressed concern over the high rates of HIV/AIDS prevalence among prisoners.
The most shocking aspect of this prevalence is that there is a worrying number of inmates who were HIV/AIDS negative by the time they were incarcerated but had contracted the deadly disease by the time they were freed.
The Uganda Prisons Sero-Behavioral Survey Report of 2014 indicated that there were 47 (13.6%) new infections out of 1,315 HIV infected individuals among prisoners.
That out of the 47 prisoners who had recent infections, 50% (23) had been incarcerated for more than six months. This means that the 23 prisoners contracted HIV while in prison.
The report attributes this to several factors including but not limited to risky behavior and lifestyles, injurious violent incidents that contribute to the disease transmission.
The Committee was further informed that prisons facilities did not have specialized accommodation facilities designed to separate HIV prisoners as this would increase stigma. The committee observed that lack of specialized nutritional for HIV inmates was bound to further decrease on their immunity thereby compromising their health.
Parliament’s Committee on HIV/AIDs has attributed the high rates of HIV prevalence among prisoners to homosexuality practices amongst inmates.
“The committee further observed that the high HIV prevalence in prison facilities could be attributed to same sex intimacy, delays in the window period and hygiene purposes,” Namisindwa District Woman MP and HIV/AIDS Committee Chairperson Sarah Netelisire Kayagi told colleagues in Parliament on July 05.
“Prisoners have experienced issues of homosexuality in prisons and therefore, looking at the survey that was conducted by the prisons themselves, it made the Committee to confirm that homosexuality is taking place in prisons and it is also one of the reasons as to why the prisoners who walk in when they are negative since they undergo mandatory testing on entry, then they test them on exit, so they find out that they are HIV Positive.”
It should be remembered that Uganda recently passed the Anti-Homosexuality law, prompting the US to announce sanctions against top Museveni government officials. Speaker Anita Among’s visa was cancelled before the official sanctions were announced. (See Details Here and There).
The Archbishops Church of England (Canterbury) and the Ugandan Anglican Church were engaged in a bitter war of words over the matter, with the Ugandan Archbishop telling his counterpart at Canterbury to stop ordering him around like a small kid. (Read Stories Here and There).
Ugandan President Gen Yoweri Museveni has said he is ready for war against homosexuals and revealed what he will do if the whites stop giving aid to Uganda over the homosexuality law. (See Details Here and There).
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