UNODC participates in the First National Seminar on Integral Health Care of Persons Deprived of Liberty in Prison

 

Brasilia, 23 October 2015 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), participated, on 21 October, in the First National Seminar on Integral Health Care of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the prison system. The seminar is part of the "Basic Care Week", on which is also intend to happen oral health events and the National Management Forum.

The seminar, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Health, marks the transition of the National Comprehensive Care Policy on Persons Deprived of Liberty (PNAISP) of the Department of Programmatic and Strategic Actions of the Ministry of Health (DAPES / MS) to the Department of Primary Care (DAB / MS) and aimed to deepen the debate on the PNAISP, enabling discussions on the issue and the exchange of experiences.

The opening session was attended by the Director of the Primary Care Department, Eduardo Alves Melo, who pointed out that the agenda of health in prison was transferred to the DAB because it was understood that the care provided in prisons is primary care. The Director noted further that prisoners are only deprived of the right of liberty and all other fundamental rights, such as health, must be guaranteed by the state. The General Coordinator for Combating Torture of the Ministry of Women, Racial Equality and Human Rights, Karoline Castro; the Coordinator of Support to the Education of the Ministry of Justice, Leticia Maranhão Matos; the Adviser to the National Council of Justice, Marden Marques; the President of the National Council of Municipal Health Secretaries (CONASEMS), Mauro Junqueira; and representative of the National Council of Health Secretaries (CONASS) were also attending the opening session.

 

During the event, Pollyanna Alves, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Program Assistant, presented the project "Freedom to Look", which aims to develop a methodology of training and sensitization on human rights in the penitentiary system. The proposal is to use images that portray vulnerabilities related to the promotion and / or violation of human rights in the daily lives of prisons. The objective is to promote a discussion on the subject, focusing on gender issues, violence and health, specifically the prevention of AIDS , viral hepatitis and tuberculosis.

 

The exhibition "Freedom to look" resulted from the first round of the project in the Central Prison of Porto Alegre and in the Women's Penitentiary Madre Pelletier.  It revealed the daily life in prison by the eyes of prisoners, staff and employees. Its results were also taken to the Seminary.

The event had the participation of local, state and federal managers of the prison health and primary care and representatives of CONASS and CONASEMS.

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