Copenhagen (AFP)

Access to care in prisons in Europe remains difficult, which contributes to the poor health of prisoners and is ultimately very expensive, said Thursday the WHO in a report, the first of its kind.

"As prisoners continue to suffer disproportionately from undiagnosed and untreated pathologies, this will add to the burden of public health agencies after their release," warns the UN body.

After studying the prison population in 39 of the 53 countries in his area, the World Health Organization's (WHO) Europe office recommends that its members draw up an inventory of prisoners' health - through testing for tuberculosis, mental health and addictions-- as well as, on a voluntary basis, sexually transmitted diseases and hepatitis.

The report points to a glaring lack of care staff in some countries.

France has 49.9 carers, including 3.4 doctors, for every 1,000 prisoners. This is better than the region average for caregivers (31.7 for 1.000) but far less good for doctors (10.3 for 1.000).

In Russia, there are 32.1 carers, including 11.5 doctors per 1,000 prisoners. Portugal has 8.6 carers, including one doctor per 1,000.

- Mental Health -

The mental health of the inmates is crucial. 14% of deaths during detention are related to suicide.

In addition, the "mortality rate of people leaving prison exceeds those of civilian populations, mainly in the month following their release" mainly from predictable causes such as suicides or overdoses, the report notes.

In some Eastern European countries, it is twice as high as rates in Western Europe - up to 500 deaths per 100,000 former detainees. According to WHO, the world average is 10.5 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Prison overcrowding is also a vector of poor health.

While the number of detainees has decreased significantly in Europe between 2016 and 2018, eight countries, including France, still have "serious problems of overcrowding" prison, estimated in April a study of the Council of Europe.

With a rate of 116 inmates for 100 places, France, which has the highest suicide rate (12.6 per 10,000 prisoners), ranks third, behind Romania (120) and Northern Macedonia (122). . The median European rate is 91 prisoners per 100 places.

According to WHO figures, the incarceration rate decreased on average between 2014 and 2016, from 183 to 166 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants in the 39 countries studied.

Finally, access to oral health is uneven across European prisons. Although every French prison offers dental care, no dentist is attached to Georgian prisons and there is a dentist for the entire Bosnian prison population, according to the WHO report.

In 2017, European countries injected 20.2 billion euros into their prisons. On average, the daily cost of a prisoner is 67 euros.

In Europe, of the approximately 1.5 million prisoners, 94% are men.

© 2019 AFP