HALF Of FEMALE Prisoners Are HIV POSITIVE

Nearly half the number of female prisoners around the country are HIV-Positive.
According to a report by IN BUT FREE, a non-governmental organisation that seeks the welfare of inmates, 43 percent of women in seven prisons tested positive for HIV.
The report was presented following a ‘Serobehavioural survey of the HIV and AIDS situation in Zambian Prisons’ conducted by the organisation.
The report was presented by principal investigator Oscar Simooya called for urgent action to redress the situation.
‘We must do something, a percentage of 43 percent is a sad situation,’ he said during the dissemination of the findings at Taj Pamozi Hotel.
The survey was conducted at Chipata, Kamfinsa in Kitwe, Livingstone, Lusaka Central, Mongu, Mukobeko in Kabwe and Solwezi prisons between April 2009 and July last year.
The report shows that a total number of 2,244 inmates, whose ages range between 15 and 55, participated in the survey.
Out of the total number of participants, 184, representing 8.2 percent, were women.
‘Age of participant and gender were strongly linked to the result of HIV testing. Prisoners between 35 and 44 had the highest proportion, 36.2 percent of those with HIV Infection while female prisoners had a significantly high prevalence of 43.3 percent,’ says the report.
The report also noted that the prevelance rate is high than the national prevelance rate.
In 1998, the HIV prevalence rate in prisons was at 27 percent while the national rate remained at 19 percent.
And the report says there is reasonable access to maternal child services for female prisoners who have children in the prisons.
Nine out of the eleven women, who were pregnant when they were incarcerated, gave birth in prison.
Twenty children were living in prison with their mothers and five of them had infant formula’s.

Posted by Editor on November 5, 2011. Filed under LATEST NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

17 Responses to HALF Of FEMALE Prisoners Are HIV POSITIVE

DK

November 5, 2011 at 12:51 pm

THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD FIND A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM!
Framuka

November 5, 2011 at 1:17 pm

Government starts with an individual. Therefore let everyone capable to go out and sensitize those prisoners the importance of knowing one’s HIV status and the way forward. Let us not leave everything to the government solve but emulate IN BUT FREE.
BS140

November 5, 2011 at 1:22 pm

Sad story…How many were negative the time they went there?? Seriously government need to look into this before more people get infected
Lala Velasquez

November 5, 2011 at 4:25 pm

Prison is bad
Lala Velasquez

November 5, 2011 at 4:30 pm

its very bad, i have been there to visit
Dien

November 5, 2011 at 4:52 pm

Any proposals for the solution?

Government is you and I.
I dont have any proposal for now, do you?
kayz kelsi

November 5, 2011 at 4:52 pm

kubepayafye
Nedlog1

November 5, 2011 at 4:55 pm

@lala did u visit o u wer arrestd.
purity

November 5, 2011 at 5:23 pm

kayz kels u r crazy
My suggestion is RELEASE THEM without conditions
after all there are so many criminals outside prisons
MANN N/West

November 5, 2011 at 6:03 pm

The best solution to this scourge is for those that are HIV+ to ask status of the aspiring partner, and if the other party is -ve, the +ve should abstain, otherwise the +ve should date the +ve, the -ve the -ve. Failure to this, the positivity index will keep on rising, unless this desease starts devulging signs like tatoos.Those early days there used to be ‘high visibility signs’.
Chisotwe Wa Nsaishi

November 5, 2011 at 10:14 pm

Ba Tumfweko, did the NGO IN BUT FREE present the report with half-baked findings, or as usual it’s you distorting information to attract readership?

“We must do something, a percentage of 43 percent is a sad situation…” Yes 43% is sad, but so is 1% to the loved ones, and what needs to be targetted is 0% in both men and women. In Zambia the commonest way of transmission is still heterosexually, from male to female and vice versa. So this makes me wonder why emphasis has only been placed on the magnitude in female prisoners disregarding men. It is also hard to appreciate the magnitude of the HIV problem in prisons.

To start with, there were 2,244 participants in the survey, out of which only 184 were female. Why such a small number (8%) of females compared to the male subjects? And out of the 184, about 80 were positive, so how many males out of 2060 participants were positive? How do we do something if we don’t know how big the problem is among male prisoners? Does it mean the problem is bigger in female prisoners than in male prisoners? Or did the survey only seek to find solutions for female prisoners? Solving the problem in females only is solving only half the problem!

There’s also need to establish whether they contracted the virus before going to prison or while inside. That way the right intervations will be sought. E.g. if it is inside, how did they contract – could it be that some are being raped by prison warders? (It’s hard to imagine how females can transmit to each other!)If they go to prison already infected, measures to prevent contracting HIV will also be different, and these won’t only address the prisons but society at large.

If we want to begin to address the problem of HIV in prisons,another study needs to be conducted to establish their status as they go into prison, bearing in mind that testing is voluntary. This will be the first step in answering the question if an inmate was +ve or not at the time of incarceration. Follow up tests should be done on those found to be -ve, to see if they turn +ve and at which point, as well as determine whether the virus was contracted in prison or outside. Of course such pertinent questions as when they last had sex would need to be asked.

Bane the scourge of HIV is real and serious, as they say “If you are not infected, you are affected”. So please let’s work to ultimately eradicate it. It might take years to achieve it, but it can eventually be done. ” A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”
Brad Pitt

November 5, 2011 at 10:21 pm

yah, talking about aids, nalilya umuwonfi wesu, cheating on my wife for the first time after 6 years of marriage and 4 years of dating. Am so afraid to get tested nshile lala. Elyo kamu komboni. katwishi nga nibanga aba nyenga ko (bus drivers, oh my god!!!!).
I know you must think am a bustard, but i was watching Football, ka amba uku cleaner TV ka le nfulamina.
USA

November 6, 2011 at 5:48 am

Ba brad pitt, thats not an excuse ati kale fulamina,were is self control, and that is or may be used to be your employee, thats just who u are, does your wife know abt this, its better u get tested than never, bad behaviour naimweee, do u have kids, what a father shame on you
Judgment day

November 6, 2011 at 7:58 am

@kayz kelsi tukatampilapo babulu bobe den tukepaye iwe….Dalitso alimba VOMELA wikala kwi ulimututu tawaishiba ati tandizo okoyaba ku topn chabe, bwekela kusukulu evn da yungest kid knws d@ infact u nid prayaz
Wanu Ngwee

November 6, 2011 at 10:25 am

VERY SAD! But do prisons have clinics that check and monitor the status of inmates right from admission? We need clinics (even just visiting centres by health professionals) in the prisons to conduct regular check-ups and run ARV programmes. But we also demand discipline and professionalism from prison warders themselves. Either they are allowing male and female prisoners to mingle, or part of it themselves.
Blaq Oma

November 6, 2011 at 12:20 pm

The report does not state whether those that are infected, got the virus before or after they went into prison.
Dikman

November 6, 2011 at 4:12 pm

What about testing the prison waders as well, eba nyenga nasana ma prisoners kabili ya free!