…Politicians, policy makers and the general public in India are prejudiced by the traditional notion that “sinners deserve neither mercy nor money.” Owing to this mind-set policy makers tend to allocate the resources “as per law” rather than “as per needs.” Even this is provided only after significant lobbying by pressure groups like human/prison rights activists. Sadly the media too presents prison health as a human rights issue and not an issue of public health concern. The very fact that almost all prisoners return back to the community makes it imperative to link prison health with the public health system and bring them under the coverage of primary health care. Policy makers as well as the general public need to understand that the prison and the community are at continuum. The much needed overhaul of the prison health system by linking it with public health cannot be achieved without a sustained campaign aimed at changing these dogmas. Historical data from nations which have separate health systems for prisons clearly indicate very poor quality of services. …Read the full article published at Journal of Family Medicine & Primary Care here.(Click: Open Access)
