BARBERTON – As a way of improving health services in correctional facilities the Department of Health launched Operation Sukumela Impilo at the Prison Farm on Friday .
Speaking at the official launch, the chief director of HIV and TB programmes in the Department of Health, Ms Ayidah Makwetla, said she has no doubt that the partnership with correctional services will yield fruitful results.
“We all have common goals, which is to ensure offenders have access to health services irrespective of where they are. It also means that being behind bars is not the end of life, but it means that you are given a second chance to better your life. In order for us to witness the fruitful results of the operation, we must work as a team,” she said.
Overcrowding in correctional centres also contributes in spreading diseases such as TB.
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“We have discovered that TB in correctional institutions is very high and we believe that the conditions that they are living under also contribute in spreading the virus. So we won’t allow such things to happen as we say prevention is better than cure. We want offenders to receive a good treatment,” she explained.
Makwetla added that the initiative will give offenders an opportunity to be screened for cancer and other diseases.
Acting regional commissioner, Mr Phiko Mbambo, said, “We are confident to say that the operation will assist us a lot in terms making sure that inmates are healthy since there will be screenings, and those who will be diagnosed with a certain virus will receive treatment fast. I hope other provinces will learn from Mpumalanga and introduce this initiative.”
Offenders, Ms Elizabeth Sithole said, “I always wanted to check for breast cancer, so today I am going to use the opportunity to do screening and we are not going to pay a cent”.
