Date : 04/2020

Title : Asia : ICRC steps up support in congested jails as COVID-19 spreads

Duration : 00:05:54

Director : FELL, Nicola Eva

Cameraman : unknown

Editor : unknown

Keyword : PLACE OF DETENTION; PERSON DEPRIVED OF THEIR LIBERTY; EPIDEMIC; INFECTIOUS DISEASE; PREVENTION; HYGIENE

Confidentiality level : public

Publication restrictions : publication without restrictions

Copyright : ICRC

Production company : ICRC

ICRC producer :
FELL, Nicola Eva

Description : With Covid-19 spreading on every continent, distancing has become the new normal. But the rules for avoiding infection are almost impossible in prison. In the Philippines, detention facilities are among the most congested in the world. Some inmates have so little space, they must take turns to lie down to sleep. In such an environment, the risk of disease spreading is high. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is working closely with Philippines detention officials to prepare for a possible outbreak; setting up four isolation centres for inmates who test positive for COVID-19, or those who may show symptoms.
In Cambodia too the ICRC has stepped in to support disease control and prevention in prisons. Detention facilities are often overcrowded, with poor ventilation. ICRC teams are working with the Cambodian authorities to provide tonnes of much needed hygiene and personal protection items, in a bid to safeguard more than 38,000 inmates and 4,000 prison staff. ICRC staff in Cambodia are also providing training and technical support to the authorities, and working to ensure that families of detainees can remain in contact with them, while taking all possible measures to control the spread of the virus.
In Bangladesh, the ICRC is working with the Prison Directorate and the Ministry of Home Affairs to help the country’s 68 prisons prepare for a possible outbreak of COVID-19. Disinfection materials have been distributed to Bangladesh’s central prison in Keranigani, and training in how to use it has been organized for prison staff.
But despite the challenges, the ICRC is determined to continue its work; prisons are places of detention, but they should not be places where disease can spread. In the Philippines, a 48 bed isolation facility is now ready to go, and ICRC Health in Detention Program Manager Harry Tubangi is justifiably proud of the work that has been done.

Original language : International soundtrack

English title : Asia : ICRC steps up support in congested jails as COVID-19 spreads

Colour/B&W : colour

SD/HD : HD

Resolution : 1920 x 1080

Aspect ratio : 16/9

Original material/format : H264

Best material/format available : ProRes 422