AIDS 2010: “Treatment, interrupted: pretrial detention and health”

AIDS 2010: International Harm Reduction Development Programme Satellite and Skills-building Session

11:15 – 13:15, Mini Room 3

Despite the statistic that nearly 30 percent of incarcerated persons globally are pretrial detainees who have not been convicted of any offense, the health risks of pretrial detention are routinely excluded from most conversations on prison health. Meanwhile, risk of HIV transmission and obstacles to care may be greater in pretrial detention than among long-term prisoners, where these risks are known to be high. Clients of opioid substitution treatment programs or detainees who prior to detention were receiving antiretroviral treatment are routinely subjected to treatment interruptions while they await trial. This session will explore the evidence behind the need to reduce the use of pretrial detention according to human rights standards in order to deliver effective HIV prevention and treatment. The presenters will address the specific health risks that pretrial detention poses and will give examples of several successful models from around the world that are working to address these risks.