The Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) met with stakeholders of the prison service on Wednesday to identify and address the main challenges and gaps in the delivery of health care to prisoners.
A Government Information Agency (GINA) report said one of the main points discussed at the High Level Meeting on health in the prisons was human rights. The meeting aimed to summarise the current mechanisms in place to maintain health in prisons, discuss the main challenges and gaps in the context of health in prisons, present an overview of the recent activities developed by PAHO in the context of health and human rights in prisons and identify next steps to be taken in order to develop joint activities engaging all relevant ministries to improve health and human rights conditions, in line with PAHO Resolution CD50.R8. It also sought to identify the best ways to coordinate a joint effort among relevant ministries for the improvement of health conditions in local prisons. Resolution CD50.R8 specifically asks member states to formulate, and, if possible, adopt legislative, administrative, educational, and other measures to disseminate the applicable international human rights instruments on protecting the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and other related human rights among the appropriate personnel in the legislative and judicial branches and other government authorities.
“This meeting is a fledging effort which is worthy of
