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Prison HIV infection on the rise

    JOHANNESBURG

    Namibia's AIDS Law Unit on Monday said the government's failure to provide condoms within prisons has contributed to the increase in HIV infections.

    The Ministry of Prisons and Correctional Services annual report last week said the number of HIV-infected prisoners in Namibia rose by 68 percent from 2000 to 2001

    "It is an outrage that even with this knowledge the government is willing to let these people die," AIDS Law Unit lawyer, Delme Cupido, told the UN news service, PlusNews.

    Commissioner of prisons, John Nyoka, said condoms were not distributed within the prisons because "it encouraged sodomy and homosexuality".

    "The government's homophobic stance is allowing the rapid increase of HIV infection among the country's prisoners," Cupido added.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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