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Civil wars, political unrest, and the rise of extremist groups , along with wide- spread poverty, health crises, and droughts and other natural disasters, havemade it difficult for Africa to move on from centuries of cruel and vicious colonial rule byEuropeannations. Africannations are now independent, but corruption, coups, and political and economic instability are the norm for many countries. This has led to political and other types of prisoners being densely packed into hundreds of substandard, often abusive prisons. Malawi The 1996 Kampala Declaration on Prison Conditions in Africa described those conditions with a single word: inhuman. One example isMalawi, located in the southeastern part of the continent. With a population of about 17.3 million, it is one of the poorest countries in Africa. It has among the highest rates of child mortality , HIV/AIDS infection, illiteracy , and death during childbirth. It also rates among the lowest for life expectancy. Words to Understand Child mortality: The deaths of infants and children under five years old. The child mortality rate is the number (or percentage) of children dying before age five. Extremist groups: Groups of people who hold extreme, or fanatical, political or reli- gious views, especially those who favor violence. Gruel: Thin, watery cereal. Illiteracy: Inability to read or write. Kwashiorkor: A severe disease caused by a lack of protein in the diet. Scabies: A contagious, extremely itchy skin condition caused by small insects called mites. Tuberculosis: A serious bacterial infection of the lungs that is easily spread. Africa

An Oxfam International health worker runs a question-and-answer session with inmates at Bunia Prison, where sanitation is poor and the risk of cholera is high due to overcrowding.

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Prison Conditions Around the World