Correctional Centres Healthcare Initiative

Delivering Hope, Health, and Dignity Behind Bars

Incarcerated individuals face disproportionately high risks of infection due to overcrowding, limited healthcare access, poor sanitation, and stigma. Yet, they remain among the most underserved populations in Nigeria’s public health landscape. HEST bridges this gap by bringing comprehensive, compassionate, and confidential healthcare services directly into correctional centres upholding the fundamental human right to health while protecting broader community safety.

What We Do

  • Targeted Screening & Testing: We conduct routine, voluntary, and confidential testing for HIV, Hepatitis B & C, Tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases, ensuring early detection and immediate linkage to care.
  • Treatment Access & Adherence Support: We facilitate uninterrupted access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), antivirals, and essential medications, coupled with counseling and adherence monitoring to ensure viral suppression and recovery.
  • Health Education & Prevention: Through peer-led workshops, informational sessions, and distribution of preventive materials, we empower inmates with knowledge to protect themselves and others reducing transmission risks within facilities and upon release.
  • Stigma Reduction & Psychosocial Support: We train correctional staff and inmate peers to combat discrimination, foster supportive environments, and provide mental health counseling to those affected.

 

Why It Matters

Healthy inmates mean healthier communities. Untreated infectious diseases in correctional centres do not stay behind walls they spread to staff, visitors, and eventually the general population upon release. By prioritizing inmate health, we protect public health, reduce long-term healthcare costs, and uphold Nigeria’s commitment to universal health coverage and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being).

Our Impact

HEST has already launched pilot programs in select correctional centres, delivering hundreds of tests, initiating dozens on life-saving treatment, and training correctional health workers on infection prevention and compassionate care. Our inmate-focused, rights-based approach has reduced stigma, improved treatment adherence rates, and strengthened collaboration between the Nigerian Correctional Service and public health authorities.