The Ministry of Interior Affairs' prison sector is beginning counseling services and AIDS optional examinations at 42 prisons in an effort to reseach disease-related prevention. The first phase of the project will be implemented in four prison facilities.
The project, labeled the Egyptian Prison Initiative for Establishing Treatment and Rehabilitation centers, is the first of its kind in Egyptian prisons. Attendees of the Connections Project conference, organized by European Institute of Social Services at Kent University, will lead the project's initiatives. Most of the personnel selected to spearhead the project are from United Nations office on Drugs and Crime.
Head of the prison sector Atef Sherif attended the conference at the request of Interior Minister Habib al-Adly. The conference released posters about healthcare initiatives inside Middle Eastern and North African jails. The posters, according to al-Adly, advocated full health-related rights for prison detainees without discrimination. They also called for a regional approach to disease prevention and protection. Sherif said the conference also discussed methods of monitoring health responses to drug use inside jails.
Authorities must follow international paradigms, according to Sherif, in order to achieve the highest rates of prisoner health care.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
