Reference :
V-P-PH-E-01065
Date :
11/03/2020
Caption :
Manila. This detainee suffers from multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and has been on treatment for six months. Tuberculosis has been present for many years in detention facilities in the Philippines, where the conditions are favorable to the spread of the disease. Lessons learned from fighting tuberculosis help in dealing with the pandemic of COVID-19 affecting detention facilities.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
ICRC website, article, 24.03.2020, extract
COVID-19: Lessons from Philippines jails show how to fight infectious coronavirus disease
As COVID-19 focuses the world’s attention on infectious diseases, we have our eyes on one of the most dangerous places for the spread of such outbreaks: prisons, where densely packed people and (often) limited access to health care make for a risky situation.
Overcrowding, poor ventilation and infrastructures, deficient health, hygiene and sanitation conditions favours the spread of infectious diseases – whether the novel coronavirus COVID-19 or tuberculosis (TB) which can rapidly affect a large number of people inside detention facilities. While COVID-19 is caused by a virus and TB by bacteria, both may have devastating effects on vulnerable groups such as the elderly and those with chronic diseases.
TB, for example, is known to be 100 times more prevalent in detention facilities than in the community. And based on the World Prison Brief database, the Philippines was ranked highest in the world in jail occupancy rate in their latest report. As of 19 March 2020, according to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the congestion rate in their 467 jails is at 534 per cent.
Overcrowding has been a challenge for many years inside Philippines jails. (…)
"Many years ago, when I applied for work, my X-ray findings suggested I had TB. I was treated for six months but I did not finish the course. I have been jailed for seven years in a congested facility. A mass screening was conducted there as well as sputum screening. There it was traced that I now had MDR TB, because I did not complete my treatment when I first had TB. I have been undergoing treatment for six months. In the first four months, it was tough because we had daily injections and a lot of medicines. I just hold on so I can get well. Now my treatment is ongoing so I can be cured." - "Rudy," inmate with MDR TB. (...)
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
4781x3194
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
