Agency
In a bid to protect detainees in detention facilities from being infected with transmittable diseases, arrangements are being made to screen all suspects for infections as they are being booked into police cells.
The procedure is being instituted thanks to funding from the Global Fund.
The information was given to officers in the criminal justice system had raised the need for the improvement of medical screening facilities at the different detention facilities, so as to improve equitable health access for both suspects and inmates.
The initiative is being implemented under a program codenamed; “Breaking the Barriers Initiative,” which aims at controlling the spread of HIV, TB and Malaria among inmates.
This three year initiative, stretching from 2024 to 2026 is meant to ensure that suspects are screened for HIV, TB and Malaria before detention.
Dr. Bernard Ndiwalana, the head of clinical services in Uganda Police Force-UPF, says that this initial screening is geared towards providing adequate information pertaining the health wellbeing of suspects before detaining them in police cells.
Ndiwalana says that, the data captured from the suspects enables them to detect those who are infected with HIV, so that arrangements are made for them to continue with their treatment, despite living under detention. Those with malaria he says are quickly started on treatment, in a bid to avoid escalation of the infection to either anaemia or death. For TB, Ndiwalana says that the suspects are screened and those who test positive for the same are isolated in special rooms, which enables them to arrange for their timely treatment.
