Reference :
V-P-PH-E-01066
Date :
11/03/2020
Caption :
Laguna, Calamba, regional tuberculosis infirmary. Thanks to this infirmary, sick detainees can be isolated and treated. 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. (…)
"What's good about the infirmary is that the TB cases in our jails are isolated and treated here. We remove them from a congested jail where there are surely a number of TB cases. It's like we are cleansing that jail by treating them here. That's what's good about this infirmary. There's one facility that caters to detainees with TB. They get cured from their illness. They are given health education and health service." - Daisy Ann Ancheta, National Tuberculosis Programme nurse who has been working since the start of the Calamba regional TB infirmary in 2012.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
4781x3194
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
