In the context of the “Limitation of Freedom ≠ Limitation of the Right to Health” awareness campaign launched by the Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons, it is worth highlighting an important initiative from last year – the development of a Roadmap for monitoring non-discriminatory access to health services in prisons. This document was a significant step towards the implementation of community-led monitoring initiatives in prisons in the Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Caucasus (CEECAC) region. It is important to note that community-led monitoring in prisons should be an integral part of the service delivery process, as prisoners have limited capacity to report access problems compared to people at large.
The Roadmap was developed with the participation of 16 experts from 8 countries and offers practical community-led monitoring mechanisms to ensure equitable access to HIV, TB and HCV services in prisons. The main objective of the document was to ensure meaningful participation of people with lived experience of incarceration in monitoring the availability, timeliness and quality of health care services in prisons, which is an important step to ensure equitable access to HIV, TB and HCV services in the prison system. The document emphasizes the importance of active participation of the community in the monitoring process and institutionalization of this process at the national level.
Oleksii Zagrebelnyi, Head of the Board of the Eurasian Movement for the Right to Health in Prisons, emphasizes: “Deprivation of liberty should not mean the loss of basic human rights, including the right to health. The Roadmap is a tool that allows communities to actively participate in monitoring services and push for change. For example, the introduction of digital tools like FREELIFE in Ukraine helps prisoners to anonymously report on their situation in accessing health services, which helps to identify the barriers people in prison face in accessing services.”
As part of the “Limitation of Freedom ≠ Limitation of the Right to Health” campaign, we are re-emphasizing the important role of civil society in protecting the right to health. Our goal is to ensure the full participation of community representatives in the monitoring of health care services in prisons. . Eurasian Movement will continue to work to promote human rights in prison and support initiatives aimed at ensuring equal access to health services for all.”