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September 16, 2016

UK : prisoner died after jail staff "failed to treat his severe asthma"

News

Health Violence United Kingdom

A prison inmate who suffered from severe asthma died due to “serious failings” in the way jail staff managed his medical condition, a coroner has ruled. Senior Coroner Andre Rebello has warned that unless lessons are learned from the death of Ashley Gil, the prison service may experience future fat…

September 14, 2016

England and Wales : rise in prisoners moved to mental health hospitals

News

Health Mental health United Kingdom

More prisoners are being diagnosed with mental health problems requiring hospital treatment, official figures obtained by the Guardian show. The number of male prisoners being transferred to hospital under the 1983 Mental Health Act grew by more than 20% between 2011 and 2014 in England and Wales,…

July 26, 2016

Madagascar : malnutrition can turn a prison sentence into a death sentence

News

Africa Health Madagascar

Almost one in every two prisoners in Madagascar suffers from moderate or severe malnutrition. In 2015, more than 9,000 inmates were identified as malnourished and treated as part of an emergency food programme aiming to get this extremely vulnerable population back on their feet and prevent malnutr…

July 24, 2016

Canada: medical complaint challenges British Columbia prison’s use of segregation

News

Health Canada

After seven days in solitary confinement, Brett Crane told prison staff he wanted to transform into a werewolf. As his days in “the pit” marched on, he says he saw demons, heard voices and predicted that an imminent earthquake would wipe out humanity.

July 24, 2016

Scotland : nearly 70 prisoners sign petition alleging "medical neglect" at Edinburgh prison

News

Health Protest United Kingdom

An investigation is underway after 65 prisoners signed a petition criticising the medical services at Edinburgh prison. The inmates have alleged “serious medical neglect” and claim that a prisoner who died recently did not get the help he needed.

July 22, 2016

UK : an inmate dies in apparent overdose after calls for help allegedly ignored

News

Health Drugs Violence United Kingdom

A prisoner who died after apparently overdosing on prescription medicines had allegedly been ringing her cell alarm bell for more than two hours with no response, the Guardian has learned.

July 21, 2016

France : les carences du système de santé en prison

News

Europe Health France

Les données disponibles sur la santé des détenus “sont anormalement anciennes”, regrettent d’emblée les rapporteurs de l’IGAS, après avoir décrit l’état clinique de la population carcérale telle qu’elle était analysée dans des études des années 2001 à 2004. “Seule l’étude sur le VIH (virus du sida)…

July 18, 2016

USA : mass incarceration is making infectious diseases worse

News

Health United States

Depriving people of condoms and medications puts everyone at risk. Some countries do make condoms available to prisoners, while others cite security issues, or blanket prohibitions of sex. Only last year, California became the second state to require that condoms be available to all prisoners. Even…

June 15, 2016

USA : federal officials ignored years of internal warnings about deaths at private prisons

News

Health United States

In February, The Nation reported that at least 38 men died in the BOP’s privately run prisons from 1998 to 2014 in the wake of inadequate medical care. An examination of thousands of pages of previously unreleased files revealed that gravely ill prisoners had been left untreated, or relegated to th…

May 31, 2016

Haïti : à la prison civile de Jacmel comme au bout de l’enfer

News

Central America and the Caribbean Health Overcrowding Haiti

This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.

April 15, 2016

France : suicides and meds blight French prisons

News

Europe Health Suicide France

Suicide rates in French prisons are almost double the European average. The latest data from the Council of Europe, in a report published in December 2015, shows that the rate in France was 12.4 suicides per 10,000 inmates in 2013. The median rate across the European Union was 5.4 suicides per 10,0…

April 6, 2016

Etats-Unis : les prisonniers séropositifs privés de soins en Louisiane

News

Health United States

Human Right Watch (HRW) a reccueilli les témoignages d’anciens détenus précedemment incarcérés dans des prisons de la Louisiane (sud des États-Unis), sur la dangereuse absence de soins en matière de VIH. HRW a publié à ce sujet un rapport émettant plusieurs recommandations afin de réformer ce systè…

April 5, 2016

France : inadequate mental health care in prisons

News

Europe Health Mental health France

Detention Conditions, Lack of Treatment Increase Suffering — Thousands of men and women with psychosocial disabilities in French prisons are at risk of suicide or harming themselves because of the neglect of their physical and mental health, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

April 1, 2016

Côte d'Ivoire : la prison d’Abidjan, laboratoire de la lutte contre le VIH-sida

News

Africa Health Côte d’Ivoire

This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.

March 14, 2016

Cambodia : Interior Ministry admits to prison drug problem

News

Asia Health Drugs Cambodia

In what one commentator described as “a bold step”, the Interior Ministry’s prisons department has seemingly admitted it has a drug problem, and last week sent a letter requesting the Health Ministry’s assistance in tackling it.

March 4, 2016

South Africa: filth, disease, sex and violence for Pollsmoor's female inmates

News

Women Health Violence South Africa

International Women’s Day on March 8 turns the spotlight on the fate of women, in particular their achievements and the slow pace of progress. An often overlooked group are women prisoners.

May 25, 2015

Sierra Leone's prisons: tough, but Ebola-free

News

Africa Health Sierra Leone

Central Freetown’s maximum-security prison was built to house just 324. Today, over 1400 inmates are crammed between its walls.