Prisons AIDS survey draws mixed reaction

South African activists have cautiously welcomed government plans to gauge the impact of AIDS among inmates and prison staff by means of a national survey.

The Department of Correctional Services said it aimed to test 12,500 prisoners and officials over two months in order to design suitable interventions to help stem the pandemic in its facilities.

Although welcoming the announcement, Jonathan Berger, a lawyer at the AIDS Law Project (ALP), said he failed to see how the survey would identify which offenders were in need of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy.

"The survey might be useful in giving a more accurate image of what the HIV prevalence is in prisons nationally, but it will not address the immediate problem of making ARVs readily available to those inmates who might otherwise die," he told PlusNews.

Berger is part of an ALP legal team representing HIV-positive inmates of Westville Prison, in the east-coast city of Durban, who are trying to obtain speedy access to treatment.

Three inmates have succumbed to AIDS-related illnesses since early September.

Only four of the country's 240 facilities are currently accredited prison-based ARV sites: Grootvlei Prison in Free State Province; Pietermaritzburg Prison just outside Durban; Qalakabusha Prison at Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal Province, and St Alberts Prison in the Western Cape.

The department's deputy commissioner for communications, Manelisi Wolela, pointed out that Westville had also recently received provisional accreditation and would soon be rolling out treatment.

"This is why this survey is so important - it will not only give the department a better understanding of the HIV prevalence rate in the country's 240 places of incarceration, but will also help us sharpen our current anti-AIDS programme," Wolela said.

At present almost 6 percent of inmates are known to be living with the HI virus, but the survey is expected to reveal a prevalence rate in prisons above that of the general public, estimated at 19 percent.

"It will also give us an idea of how the disease has affected our staff.

In this way we will be able to implement the necessary interventions along the lines of awareness, prevention, care, support and treatment," he said.

A US$220,000 grant from the US President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) - a $15 billion initiative for the prevention, care and treatment of AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean - will be used to carry out the survey.

ALP lawyer Jonathan Berger also expressed concern over awaiting-trial prisoners not being included in the survey.

"Usually these younger offenders are not only vulnerable to infection while they wait for up to eight months at a time for court appearances or sentencing, but some are on medication for various ailments, and experience treatment interruptions due to prison procedure.

These are issues the survey is not able to tackle," he pointed out.