Earlier this year, MSF responded to Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic and medical teams started working in prisons to treat cholera patients and prevent spread of the disease. Several assessments in these prisons found many prisoners were malnourished and living in terrible sanitary conditions. MSF intervened and decided to set up a humanitarian programme in seven prisons in Midland and Mashonaland provinces. The programme later expanded to include six more prisons in the area.
The focus of MSF’s prison programme, which started in July this year, is the provision of basic health services and food, as well as activities to improve water and hygiene conditions. Pip Millard coordinated the activities in two out of the four provinces currently covered by MSF. She gives us an insight into these prisons, and the condition of the inmates.
Pip Millard, OCA prison project coordinator in Zimbabwe. Photograph taken on her last project in Southern Sudan. Photo by MSF
Why did MSF start working in Zimbabwe’s prisons?
During our cholera intervention earlier in the year, we treated a number of prisoners who fell sick with cholera. It was the first time the authorities had actually allowed an international organisation to provide help within the prisons. We discovered that large numbers of prisoners were malnourished and that health facilities were almost non-existent. There was a complete lack of clean water and sanitation, and many of the prisoners were walking around half-naked. The situation was dire and in every prison we visited we found the same problems. It became clear to us that the Zimbabwe Prison Service was overwhelmed with the situation and that the inmates were suffering as a result.
Just like the healthcare system in Zimbabwe, the prison system lacks funding, material resources and motivated staff. In the past, prison farms had been self-sufficient, but a lack of water for irrigation and funds for essentials (such as seeds and fertilizers) has led to a food security crisis - both in rural farming areas and in the prisons and hospitals they sustain. But unlike rural populations, prisons have been neglected by aid agencies and prisoners have had to rely on sparse prison food or family members in order to survive.
But when needs are high all over the country, why focus on prisons?
As a humanitarian organization, our mandate is to help people that need our assistance the most. The prison population is an extremely vulnerable group, as they are usually last on society’s list of priorities. When people 'outside' are struggling with food shortages, some can develop coping mechanisms: they can try to find it at local markets, move across the border, or build up networks to help one another. In a prison, that is simply not possible. When there is no food, you starve. When there is a cholera outbreak and no treatment, you die.
What has changed since MSF started its intervention in July?
A lot has changed for the better. We have treated many inmates and the number of prisoners in our nutrition programme has dropped dramatically. We have provided prisoners with medical supplies, blankets, disinfectant and containers for water and food storage. We have installed water tanks, fixed plumbing and constructed latrines and wells. Everyone now has clean water, including the prison officers, but problems with lice and rats still persist.
We have also been working closely with the prison medical staff throughout, providing training, support and supplies: they are better prepared to manage the nutrition programmes independently. The morale of both the prisoners and prison officers has also improved, as has the relationship between the two.
But despite the good news, the crisis is not over yet. There is still a food shortage within the Zimbabwe Prison Service and, as the year’s harvest begins to run out, we are fast approaching the 'hunger season'.
Has the Government done anything to improve the situation?
There was a presidential amnesty in September and 2,513 prisoners across the country were reportedly released to ease overcrowding. However, we have since witnessed the prisons rapidly filling up again. One reason for this is the lack of rehabilitation prior to prisoner release, due to insufficient funds. Another is that the crisis 'outside' leaves many with no other choice but to resort to crime.
The overall situation in Zimbabwe remains extremely difficult for prisoners and ex-prisoners alike. When inmates are released, they are provided with no financial support - not even for a bus ride home. During our time in one of the prisons, a 21 year old boy was released after a five years sentence. His home was 300 kilometres away. He walked 10 kilometres down the road and then turned back, despondent, not knowing what to do. He hadn’t received a single visitor during his entire prison term and told us his father would not even know if he was alive or dead. We took him to the bus stop, gave him his fare, some food and we hope he arrived home safely.
Is MSF the only NGO assisting in Zimbabwe’s prisons and what is the way forward after the programme ends?
Other international organisations are now assisting in prisons throughout the country, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as local NGOs and church groups. Some are running nutrition and water/sanitation programmes and others are contributing small donations of medical supplies or food.
At the beginning of the year, prisons had the highest death rate in the history of the country. MSF has since made significant progress improving conditions and by mid-December our current programmes will come to an end. However, MSF will continue to monitor the situation and is ready to intervene if necessary.