Cameroon's Prison Conditions Favourable for COVID-19

Cameroon's Prison Conditions Favourable for COVID-19

One of the groups most vulnerable to the outbreak of COVID-19 are those deprived of their liberty via incarceration in prisons and detention centres. An inmate gets  in contact with other detainees, prison staff and visitors. In addition, the prison environment is conducive breeding ground for diseases because generally, they are often poorly lit, poorly ventilated, poorly supplied with drinking water and overcrowded. Inmates do not always have a balanced diet thus weakening their immune system.

Infection with COVID-19 exposes the diverse population of detained men, women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, people infected with HIV or tuberculosis and other sick people to numerous violations of human rights especially the right to life and the right to health. 

Despite the commutation and the remission of sentences in favor of certain prisoners who have been definitively sentenced, subject of Decree No. 2020/193 of April 15, 2020 signed by the President of the Republic, Cameroon's prisons remain have remained overcrowded.  

At the Yaoundé central prison, there were around 3,180 detainees on that date, three times more than its capacity. In the Far North, the main prison at Maroua originally designed for 350 detainees currently has over 1,300. The main prison in Buea with an original capacity of 700 prisoners currently has around 1,100 prisoners. The situation is not very bright at the Douala Central Prison which has around 2,750 detainees although it was designed to accommodate 800 people. These are statistics from human rights organisations operating in Cameroon. 

In this regard, the National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF) sort and obtained from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in partnership with the United Nations Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa (CNDHD-AC) and the Cameroon National Youth Council (CNYC), significant material support to be made available to prison authorities as part of the response to COVID-19.

These equipment for six prisons (Bamenda, Buea, Douala, Maroua, Mbalmayo and Yaoundé) consisted of hand washing devices, soaps, detergents, hydro alcoholic gel, bleach, latex gloves, masks, backpack sprayers and coveralls.

The consignment destined for the Bamenda Central Prison arrived on Friday May 29 2020 and was received by the regional penitentiary administration for onward distribution to the inmates.