Correctional Services Principal Secretary Salome Beacco has announced that all inmates will be enrolled under the Social Health Authority (SHA) by year’s end as part of efforts to curb disease outbreaks in correctional facilities.
Beacco highlighted that sexual offenders make up nearly 40 percent of the prison population, a situation she said has fueled overcrowding and worsened health challenges.
Speaking in Meru on Sunday, she noted that the high number of sexual offence convicts has strained facilities. “Almost 40 percent of the problems I have are due to sexual offences; rape, sodomy, gender-based violence,” she said, pointing out that Meru alone hosts close to 1,000 such offenders.
“My prisons are overcrowded, overfilled, and this brings other problems,” she added.
The PS warned that congestion and high concentrations of offenders have accelerated the spread of communicable diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV, while further stretching limited medical resources.
“The highest prevalence of HIV incidences is here in Meru. I don’t have money for medicines,” she said.
Beacco emphasized that placing inmates under SHA will guarantee consistent access to treatment and strengthen disease management across prisons.
In July, the PS announced that a total of 10,000 prisoners had been registered with the Social Health Authority (SHA) and now can access affordable and quality healthcare.
She said the government targets to register 60,000 inmates across the country with SHA.
“10,000 prisoners have been registered for SHA, and we anticipate registering all 60,000 prisoners in Kenya since Article 43 of the constitution provides that healthcare is a right and is to be extended to the inmates,” she said.