AIDS Behind Bars

by Matt Kelley · 2009-12-01 15:27:00 UTC
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Today is World AIDS Day and I'm thinking about the progress we've made in the last decade of so in fighting this disease, and the long road still before us. The issue of HIV and AIDS in American prisons serves as an example of the difficulty and the politics of fighting this disease around the world. And there aren't many rays of hope when looking at AIDS in prison.

More than 6% of prisoners in New York and 4% of prisoners in Florida are HIV-positive. A few months ago, I posted a map of HIV and AIDS rates in prisons across the country. Almost across the board, it's higher than the national average.

Health care is questionable in prison, but many prisoners weren't getting proper care before being locked up -- so prison provides access to AIDS drugs they never had. The most difficult treatment issue is their release. A study earlier this year found that 90 percent of prisoners would have an interruption of treatment within 30 days of their release.

Treating HIV and AIDS in prisons is one battle and preventing the spread of the disease is another. One important protection I've advocated before is condom distribution -- an idea that has yet to take hold. The last time I checked, less than 1% of prisoners across the country had access to condoms.

On this World AIDS Day, we should support the big organizations working hard for a cure and to treat the 33 million people around the world suffering from HIV and AIDS. But we also shouldn't forget the smaller groups like the Center for Health Justice that have taken on the unpopular fight on behalf of prisoners with HIV and AIDS.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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