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Plight of prisoner living with HIV
2005-12-31 09:33:59
By PST Correspondent, Kibaha
A 58-year-old HIV/Aids patient serving a five-year sentence at Mkuza Remand Prison in Kibaha District fears for his health after prison authorities rejected his doctor’s nutritional advice.
PST investigations have revealed that the inmate (name withheld) had in August, this year, complained to consultant physician Dr I Maruchu of Tumbi Special Hospital at Kibaha about a steady loss of body weight due to a poor diet. He was also found to have a CD4 count of 160.
Dr Maruchu had subsequently prescribed for the inmate a high protein diet including fish, meat, eggs and milk as well as a variety of fruits and green vegetables for vitamins, but the regional prison authorities have ignored the recommendation.
The Regional Prisons Officer and the Regional Prisons Medical Officer categorically rejected the idea of a special diet at the prison.
They made fun of a question asked by one of the inmates during their visit of the prison in September, this year, saying Mkuza had no prisoner grades.
The prison officer-in-charge at Mkuza is reported to have contacted the regional prisons medical officer, a Dr Rose, about the provision of diet recommended by Dr Maruchu, but his request fell on deaf ears.
PST has learnt that Dr Rose is head of an NGO supporting HIV/Aids patients in Coast Region, however, prisoners and remandees here say the organisation had not helped them in any way.
The HIV/Aids patient at the prison, whose name was forwarded to the NGO in August, this year, is reported to have lamented that he had not received any moral or material support from the NGO ever since despite many assurances.
On November 4, this year, Dr Rose took blood specimens from 82 Mkuza prisoners and remandees for screening by her NGO, but a month later, the inmates are yet to get the results of the blood tests.
PST has learnt that the inmate has even complained to the Legal and Human Rights Centre in Dar es Salaam about his ill health under prison conditions and pleading for release from prison.
Dr Maruchu was sad about non-implementation of his nutritional plan for the HIV/Aids patient.
’’HIV/Aids patients should not be kept in prisons,’’ he said.
Prison authorities have even barred food supplies from the inmate’s family on the grounds that prisoners were not allowed to get food from outside. Two prisoners at Mkuza have died of Aids since last year.
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