KARACHI: The provincial health department authorities have been directed to furnish a report regarding provision of medical treatment for malaria to adult and juvenile inmates of the four prisons in the city, it emerged on Saturday.

Judicial sources told Dawn that the directive was given to the health services director for Karachi division by Judge Rashida Asad of the Accountability Court-I.

They said that the judge issued these directives on a matter pertaining to non-provision of adequate medical diagnostic and treatment facilities to the prisoners incarcerated in the Karachi central prison, Malir Jail, Juvenile Jail, Malir and Women Jail.

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The judge had taken notice of the growing number of applications being filed by undertrial prisoners (UTPs) — including former provincial information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Fishermen Cooperative Society chairman Nisar Morai and others.

The UTPs had sought the court’s permission to shift them to hospitals outside the prison since the health facilities in jail lacked adequate diagnostic and treatment facilities.

The court had previously issued directives to the provincial home, prison and health departments and others concerned to furnish details of specialist doctors visiting the prisons, number of paramedical staff, diagnostic machines, medicines, etc.

In a compliance report, the Karachi health services director informed the court that several inmates had been screened for malaria through blood tests.

He added that 10 impregnated bed nets were also provided to the affected patients in the prison, as per the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) criteria.

The court directed the office to call a report regarding treatment of the inmates from the health services director.

Call to address overcrowding in prisons

In the meanwhile, the director of the Sindh Institute of Skin Diseases submitted a report in court, suggesting improvement of hygiene conditions, provision of medicines and particularly overcrowding in four prisons for the male, female and juvenile prisoners in the city.

Submitting a monthly progress report in compliance with the court’s earlier directives, Director Dr Iqbal Nabi Soomro informed the court that the doctors had visited the Karachi central prison, Juvenile Jail Malir and Women Jail for monthly medical check-ups of the prisoners incarcerated there.

He suggested to the provincial health secretary that the issue of overcrowding, especially in those sections where the inmates suffering from skin infections are kept, should be addressed.

The report called for maintaining the hygiene issues in the city’s four prisons, where the adult and juvenile prisoners were kept.

The report stated that the doctors had examined a total of 357 prisoners in the four prisons.

It stated that 209 prisoners were examined (137 for scabies; 42 for fungal infections; six for eczema; 85 for payoderma; six for acne vulgaris and 13 for other diseases) in the Karachi central prison.

Some 73 prisoners were examined (44 for scabies; six for fungal infections; eight for eczema; nine for payoderma; four for acne vulgaris; and two for other diseases) in the Malir Jail.

Around 54 underage inmates were examined (35 for scabies; five for fungal infections; two payoderma and 14 for acne vulgaris) in the Juvenile prison.

According to the report, 21 female inmates were examined (three for scabies; four for eczema; seven for fungal infections; two payoderma and five for acne vulgaris) in the Woman Jail.

In a separate report, the provincial programme manager for the extended HIV/AIDS programme, Dr Muhammad Younis Chachar, informed the court that in compliance of the court’s directives the doctors were providing HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC) and new entry in the jail was screened on a daily basis and old prisoners were also gradually screened inside the prisons.

He further stated that 700 rapid tests kits were issued during a period of July 23 to August 30 this year and 488 inmates were tested in the jails.

The report revealed that 14 new inmates diagnosed as HIV positive in the prisons, which already had 13 old HIV positive prisoners. It added that 14 were on ARV (anti-retroviral) treatment.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2018