PAO, Mitchell Moss poses for a photo with participants at Maula Prison

Inmate Peer Educators Pledge to Teach Fellow Inmates on HIV/AIDS

Public Affairs Officer Mitchell Moss presented certificates to a group of 23 Maula Prison inmates who completed a two-week HIV/AIDS Peer Educators Training Program on May 14.  International Visitor Exchange Alumni Shawo Mwakilama organized the program with support from the Public Affairs Section to educate prison inmates about HIV/AIDS, and to establish an inmate-led HIV/AIDS Peer Educators’ group and link it with AIDS Service organizations.   

In his remarks Moss applauded prison authorities for allowing inmates to access vital HIV/AIDS information and stressed the importance of being tested and knowing one's HIV status.  He advised the inmates to remain faithful to their partners to protect them from sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS.  Prison Officer-In-Charge Dezio Henry Makumba lauded the US Government for supporting the training.  He said the peer educators will be a useful resource for HIV/AIDS information at the prison and even after completion of their sentences.  He said “although prisoners are among the most vulnerable groups, their confinement limits access to vital HIV/AIDS information.”  He added that the group would have a great impact on sensitizing close to 2000 inmates at the prison and requested if the program could be replicated in other prisons throughout the country. 

The program covered communication and counseling skills, HIV transmission and prevention, sexually transmitted infections, VCT and support for people living with HIV/AIDS.  One of the participants Adebe Chipofya said the program was much needed, and asked authorities to introduce mobile HIV testing services in prisons to enable more inmates to be tested.  He pledged to counsel fellow inmates on the dangers of HIV/AIDS.