Edith Nabomba is serving a six-month sentence at Luzira Prison in a suburb of Kampala, Uganda's capital. The prison holds 5,000 prisoners, of which 230 are women. She told IRIN/PlusNews how she was coping with being locked up, pregnant and HIV positive.
"I've been in for one month and a half. I already have four kids and I'm six months pregnant. My husband stays with the kids.
"In 2006 I tested my blood to know my status. My husband also tested. We are both positive.
"My baby will be born here in January. I am on ARVs [life-prolonging antiretroviral treatment], but I'm worried because I'm not sure how the baby will be at birth. No one has told me about how to have a healthy baby. I want to talk to the nurses and ask how to keep healthy.
"It wouldn't be a problem to be HIV positive on the outside, or an inmate who is healthy, but it is hard to be both.
"I want to sleep under a mosquito net, but it is not allowed by prison regulations. Also the ARVs make me take a lot of water so I feel dry when I take them without water. There isn't always enough drinking water here. There are some missionaries who bring extra rations for the sick, but last week they were finished before I had any.
"My husband knows I'm pregnant, but he has not visited. I get some support from relatives, but none from the other inmates. People are discriminating, I'm not comfortable here; they are looking at me. They think my baby will be sick...I think this too."
gg/kr/ks
"I've been in for one month and a half. I already have four kids and I'm six months pregnant. My husband stays with the kids.
"In 2006 I tested my blood to know my status. My husband also tested. We are both positive.
"My baby will be born here in January. I am on ARVs [life-prolonging antiretroviral treatment], but I'm worried because I'm not sure how the baby will be at birth. No one has told me about how to have a healthy baby. I want to talk to the nurses and ask how to keep healthy.
"It wouldn't be a problem to be HIV positive on the outside, or an inmate who is healthy, but it is hard to be both.
"I want to sleep under a mosquito net, but it is not allowed by prison regulations. Also the ARVs make me take a lot of water so I feel dry when I take them without water. There isn't always enough drinking water here. There are some missionaries who bring extra rations for the sick, but last week they were finished before I had any.
"My husband knows I'm pregnant, but he has not visited. I get some support from relatives, but none from the other inmates. People are discriminating, I'm not comfortable here; they are looking at me. They think my baby will be sick...I think this too."
gg/kr/ks
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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