FIRST HEALTH CONFERENCE TO BOOST HEALTH SYSTEMS IN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
By Pili Chimerah
Efforts to improve Mental and physical health within correctional facilities received a boost with experts gathering in Nairobi for the First African Conference of Health in Detention.
Organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross and co-hosted by The State Department for Correctional Services, the conference brought together over 150 delegates including health experts and officers from different correctional institutions across Africa.
Speaking during the opening of the conference, State Department for Correctional Services Principal Secretary Dr. Salome Beacco said the conference will help improve health outcomes by ensuring provision of high standards of health care in correctional institutions in Kenya and across Africa through multi-sectoral collaboration.
"Dealing effectively with issues surrounding health in detention will require a multi-sectoral engagement based on inter-agency collaborative and coordinated approach. It will need the input of men, women, communities, organizations, institutions, companies as well as government," she observed.
The PS said the Kenyan government, through the State Department for Correctional Services, has embarked on revising related legislations that will help curb health challenges in correctional facilities.
" These efforts include adopting measures for legal reform regarding the treatment of mental health offenders. The new legal order aims to inspire a new pathway for national laws and policies and to provide practical guidance for execution, " the PS said.
Emphasizing the importance of the conference which will build continued partnerships the ICRC Head of Nairobi Regional Delegation Daniel O’Malley said that collaborations and teamwork from those directly involved will promote a positive and sustainable outcome for the health of those in detention.
“Starting from the places of detention, with the detaining authorities, and including the criminal justice systems, national health, and public infrastructure systems, and expanding to cooperation at a global level between states and organizations,” he said.
Among the issues tackled during the forum included constraining the spread of infectious diseases especially due to the challenge of overcrowding, development of infrastructure, improvement of nutrition and capacity building of health care in correctional facilities.
The conference included presentations and plenary sessions where the attendees were presented with the chance to interact with healthcare professionals while sharing ideas on the different experiences within the various Correctional institutions across Africa.
The government is keen on improving health care systems which has been highlighted in the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda blueprint and also by the State Department under its 8 key priority areas which include improving healthcare infrastructure, acquiring medical drugs, and providing sufficient health insurance covers for officers.
The three-day conference was also supported by the Ministry of Health, Kenya Red Cross, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, African Correctional Services Association (ACSA), and the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA).