Health Care Fiasco

Antalaha Prison’s health care system is dismal.

As one walks through the foyer outside of the men's enclosure, the prison dispensary is barely noticeable. It consists of two cots, one medicine cabinet, and a desk, run by a single health care worker whose task is to provide medical treatment for 2000 prisoners, many of whom are severely malnourished and dangerously close to death. The clinic has next to no medications. The only other medical presence is a government doctor, who visits once a week and a private doctors hired by GD (Grandir Dignement) who visits weekly. The TB patients are guaranteed regular treatment as per government protocol, although extra-pulmonary tuberculosis may not be eligible. I saw Karim fighting to get treatment for the one of the kids with clinical TB of the lymph nodes who was fading day by day.  

Karim's budget from GD is limited, so if one of the kids is hospitalized, he pays most of the bill out of pocket. The same goes for medications that have to be ordered from the outside. 

Both Bruce and Dr. Elson held informal consultations with the women and children. In addition to numerous skin diseases caused by extreme heat, lack of water to cool off, and overcrowding, they saw a wide range of other illnesses requiring urgent medical care. Bruce arranged for a one time shipment of medications from Sambava SALFA hospital. 

We spoke with the Regional Director of SAVA Prisons, who lamented the inadequacy of health care in the prison and asked if we could somehow extend Sambava's SALFA Hospital to include an Antalaha satellite clinic.