Prisoners: Stop TB Key Populations Brief

Over the past several decades, the weakening of criminal justice systems and reliance on ineffective, overly punitive policies have led to the deterioration of prisons globally. This has caused overcrowding and facilitated the spread of infectious diseases such as TB and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). Prisons are intrinsically linked to communities; thus, the TB and MDR-TB epidemics in prisons have impacted health outcomes in countries where excessive incarceration is prevalent.

The inability of governments to address the needs of large prison populations, the lack of financial support and training for prison health staff, and various comorbidities presenting among prisoners with TB make it difficult to deliver effective TB treatment in prisons, cause delays in diagnosis, facilitate rapid spread of infection, and trigger frequent treatment interruptions. The issue of TB and MDR-TB in prisons cannot be addressed without focusing on alternatives to incarceration, promoting the rights of prisoners and prison staff, providing adequate support to health infrastructures within prisons, and working alongside communities and prisoners to provide for more effective rightsbased TB treatment and care-delivery models.