The Right to Access Health Care by Detained Persons during COVID-19: A Case study of Selected Police Detention Centers in Addis Ababa.
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Date
2022-12-21
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The global outbreak of COVID-19 makes detained people and convicts living in enclosed
environments at higher risk of vulnerability, mainly their health rights are being highly
impacted. The study examines the actual implementation of detained person’s access to
healthcare rights during COVID-19 in selected police detention centers in Addis Ababa. The
objectives of this study are: to assess the adequacy of healthcare infrastructure compliance with
the international minimum requirements on detained persons right to healthcare during the
pandemic, to assess the level of hygiene and sanitation in detentions, and to examine the
implementation of COVID-19 precautionary measures. To address the objectives, the study
utilizes qualitative data collected from primary and secondary sources using interviews and
personal observation. Interviews were conducted with various respondents including detained
persons, police detention clinics health personnel, and detention staff. The study found a
combination of infrastructural deficits; clinical staff, medical provisions, poor conditions of
detention; congestion, hygiene, and sanitation. Particularly, the precautionary measures for
COVID-19 were not in place, and conducive to the spread of communicable diseases, which is
likely to deny detainees full enjoyment of their right to health. The study concludes that the
current healthcare infrastructure/ service to detained persons during COVID-19 at selected
police detention centers in Addis Ababa is below to the international principles and minimum
standards, and had compromised the protection and promotion of detained persons access to
healthcare rights
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Keywords
Health Care,COVID-19,health rights