NEW DELHI: Only three in 10 prisoners in 53 central jails have been tested for HIV in the last 12 months, even though HIV prevalence among people behind bars was about 1.93 per cent, which is nine times higher than the general population, according to National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) report.
Moreover, HIV prevalence among prisoners was comparable to female sex workers in India, who continue to fall under a heavy HIV burden. The findings also established an over-representation of injecting drug users (IDU) in Indian prisons than the general population.
The technical report on HIV sentinel surveillance plus 2021 central prison sites found that the knowledge about HIV/AIDS was much below desired levels among inmates, of which over 59 per cent were convicted and the rest were undertrials.
Describing it as a “critical gap and a priority area for future interventions”, the study conducted among 20,695 inmates lodged in 53 central jails in 26 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Delhi, found that only three out of five HIV-positive were on antiretroviral (ART) drugs.
The findings also indicated sexual activities in prison, with five out of every 100 inmates reporting its prevalence, with only three-fifths reporting using condoms with their paid partners.
The study found highest HIV prevalence was noted in Mizoram (26 per cent), followed by Punjab (7.5 per cent), Nagaland (4.6 per cent), Chandigarh (3.5 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (3.3 per cent), Telangana (2.5 per cent), Delhi (2.4 per cent), Manipur (2.3 per cent) and Assam (2 per cent).
Globally, the HIV prevalence among prisoners is estimated at around three per cent.
Though the survey found a slight improvement in knowledge about HIV as compared to the 2019 study, misconceptions like one getting HIV through mosquito bites (44.1 per cent) or through sharing food with an infected person (42 per cent) persisted.
Overall only 35.5 per cent had comprehensive and correct knowledge about HIV/AIDS, with inmates lodged in Uttarakhand scoring the highest in this regard. Poor knowledge about the life-threatening disease was found among inmates in Tripura (0.3 per cent), Punjab (2.1 per cent), West Bengal (12.7 per cent), and Jharkhand (16.1 per cent).
Less than half (46.5 per cent) of inmates were tested for HIV. Less than one-third (27.6 per cent) were reported to be tested in the last 12 months. Among inmates who were aware of their HIV status, 89.7 were on ART drugs.
The report said that in Mizoram, almost four out of every ten inmates and in Punjab, one out of every ten reported having ever injected drugs for pleasure.
“Less than 75 per cent of IDU inmates reported use of sterile needle-syringe during their last injecting episode compared with 85 per cent by IDU in general. The inmates with IDU history are less likely to follow safe injecting drugs practices,” the report added.
In Punjab, the awareness about HIV transmission through the reuse of already used needle-syringe is reported by only half of the respondents.
About three-fourths – 81.5 per cent of convicts and 71.7 per cent of undertrials – accepted that they were sexually active, with 90 per cent of inmates in Mizoram, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh confirming this, followed by over 20 per cent in Punjab.
The report also found that the prevalence of Hepatitis C among HIV-infected inmates was alarmingly high.
For the survey, inmates were also profiled. The findings showed that while Haryana has the youngest inmates (mean age of 31 years) among central prisons, Uttar Pradesh has the oldest (mean age of 47.3 years), followed by Kerala (mean age of 45.4 years).
Almost one-third were married, while 4.9 per cent were divorced, separated or widowers. In Chandigarh, more than half were never married.
The report also said that most inmates – 86.3 per cent undertrial and 81 per cent convicted – were literate, with one-fifth having more than ten years of education.
More than one-third of the inmates in Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were illiterate, followed by 24.9 per cent in Rajasthan, 24.5 per cent in West Bengal, 22.5 per cent in Telangana and 21.4 per cent in Nagaland.
In Odisha and Manipur, only 0-5 per cent of inmates were illiterate.