LIFE MIGHT BE HARDER FOR MALAWI PRISONERS

Blantyre: Wednesday, 11 April 2007

By smart MALIRO (Staff Reporter)

The announcement by Banja la Mtsogolo that it would not continue providing some health services to prisoners might lead to deteriorating health standards in Malawi Prisons.

 The announcement was made by BLM’S country Director Walker Jiyani at a Press briefing in Blantyre on April 11, 2007.

 The development follows the expiry of the Health in Prisons Project (Hip), which was being funded by Department for International Development (DFID) through Malawi Safety Security and Access to Justice (MASSAJ) programme (now defunct) and was being implemented by Banja la Mtsogolo in  coordination with the Malawi Prisons Services since 2003.

 HIP provided  treatment for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) , scabies, and other diseases in all Malawi prisons and two reformatory centres; namely Chilwa in Zomba and Mpemba Boys Home in Blantyre.

 The project also provided recreational materials, medicated soap, messages on HIV/Aids and disinfected prison cells.

 According to Jiyani, the project was a great success as it reduced some contagious ailments in Malawi Prisons like Scabies.

During the press briefing Malawi Prisons representative, Commissioner of Prisons Tobias Nowa bemoaned the end of the Programme saying it would lead to health problems in the country’s problems; however, he was quick to say the Department of prisons would ask government for more funding  to make sure that the positive impact of the HIP Project is sustained.

The BLM Country director said despite the expiry of the programme, BLM would continue assisting prisoners with treatment of some ailments as it used to do before the HIP programme started.

Banja la Mtsogolo is a nongovernmental organization that provides reproductive health care in Malawi.