The ICRC has been working with national authorities to address the causes of overcrowding in prisons and jails and its effect on inmates' living conditions and health. This is an update on these and other ICRC activities carried out in the Philippines in January 2010.
Improving conditions of detention
"Detention visits are the backbone of our operations in the Philippines, a country which has experienced decades of internal armed conflicts," said Jean-Daniel Tauxe, the ICRC's head of delegation in Manila. "We have seen that the overcrowding of jails and prisons has serious consequences on detainees' living conditions and health. Our usual practice of recommending improvements and providing technical support to the detaining authorities was not enough, so we developed a new, complementary strategy. In partnership with government officials and national agencies, we are planning and implementing changes for the benefit of all detainees."
Throughout 2009, the ICRC carried out 234 visits to over 66,000 detainees held in 139 places of detention. Together with the Philippine National Red Cross, the ICRC facilitated family visits for 312 inmates held far from their homes.
Access to safe water, sanitation, health care and acceptable living conditions is a major problem in overcrowded detention facilities. Last year, the ICRC:
- carried out renovation projects benefiting more than 11,000 inmates in 22 jails;
- supplied medical items and equipment to seven prison infirmaries and provided over 120 detainees needing immediate access to health care with the help they required;
- provided instruction for over 60 people in internationally recognized standards relating to water, sanitation, hygiene and living conditions generally in jails;
- assisted almost 2,000 detainees in four prisons affected by flooding in the aftermath of tropical storm Ondoy.
Another serious concern in overcrowded detention facilities is the spread of tuberculosis (TB). "Worldwide, tuberculosis is one of the leading causes of illness and death among inmates, and this is particularly true in countries with a high TB prevalence," said Dr Robert Paterson, an ICRC health coordinator. Overcrowding, an unhealthy manner of living and insufficient ventilation are among the factors that spread the disease among inmates. "You cannot keep TB behind bars: it readily escapes to affect the wider community, so controlling TB in jails is fundamental to protecting the general population against the illness."