Plan estratégico de salud en cárceles federales de Argentina

Abstract

In the last five years, medical care policies for prisons in the Argentine Federal Penitentiary Service were developed by the previous Medical Care Assistance Office of this Institution to improve primary medical healthcare. Policies were applied with heterogeneous criteria in comparison to the ones established by the Ministry of Health. This may be why I am interested in taking a deeper look at the Argentine experience in order to guarantee human rights, especially access to health for inmates based in the Federal Penitentiary Service. These changes could only be brought about by penal reforms such as reductions in overpopulation, the increase of the number of workers and students among inmates, including socio - cultural activities, the creation of penitentiary treatment programmes for first time inmates, adults, and mental disabilities programmes for inmates with a background of drug abuse, which have represented a great step forward towards the fulfilment of the duties of the state. This novel, integrated approach to medical care policies for imprisoned people is based on the assumed responsibility of the Ministry of Justice together with the Health Ministry, enabling equal access to community health assistance in a closed environment like prison. The reform of medical care policies in federal prisons, leads us to us reflect on the revolutionary changes in public policy management that had not been presented up till now, and that now show a change in direction that the Argentine State has taken towards effective guarantees of human rights for prison inmates.