**Overcrowding at Beni Central Prison: Deplorable Conditions and a Call for Help**
Beni Central Prison is facing a critical situation, prison overcrowding that threatens the health and dignity of prisoners. The establishment’s medical director, Dr. Robert Mwira, recently sounded the alarm on the precarious detention conditions that prevail in this prison.
At the heart of this crisis, an alarming figure: 120 deaths recorded in just 10 months. These figures demonstrate the urgency of the situation and call for immediate action to relieve congestion in the prison and ensure detention conditions that respect the fundamental rights of prisoners.
Dr. Robert Mwira highlighted the devastating impact of prison overcrowding on the health of prisoners. With a number of prisoners well above its capacity, Beni Central Prison is struggling to provide adequate medical care. Tuberculosis and malnutrition are scourges that are rife in this prison and endanger the lives of detainees.
Compliance with the health pyramid is jeopardized by inhumane detention conditions. The lack of space, food and hygiene compromises the health of detainees and increases the risk of serious illnesses. Prison overcrowding also aggravates tensions and violence within the prison, creating a climate of permanent danger for detainees and prison staff.
Faced with this alarming situation, Dr. Robert Mwira calls for urgent action to relieve congestion in Beni Central Prison. He stresses the crucial importance of addressing this problem of prison overcrowding to ensure decent detention conditions that respect human rights. He welcomes the assistance provided by MONUSCO, including the provision of medical equipment and supplies, which has helped improve medical care within the prison.
It is time to act to end overcrowding in Beni Central Prison. The health and dignity of detainees are at stake, and only concerted action by the authorities and humanitarian organizations can resolve this humanitarian crisis. It is urgent to provide detainees with the dignified conditions of detention to which they are entitled, while respecting their health, safety and dignity.