What is the name of your organization?
The Uganda National Medical Alliance for Prisoners' Support. (TUNMAPS)
What is the name of your solution?
Community health strengthening
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
TUNMAPS aims to accelerate innovative solutions for a healthy reintegration systems, linkage and retention in care for inmates ex-offenders in Uganda
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Country- Uganda, region- Greater Masaka, City- Lyantonde, ward B, Kaliiro street, Lyantonde Town council
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
UGA
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
A case study conducted by TUNMAPS between July-December 2024 highlights the urgent need for collaborative action, Among the 600 male ex-offenders released, 73 (12.2%) were living with HIV, yet only 49 (8.2%) accessed referral health facilities, and 261 female inmates were released of which 65 (24.9%) had HIV and only 36 (13.8%) reached treatment centers, over 90% of ex-offenders (M&F) reported family rejections, poor health and community discriminations, therefore, they did not reach their families/ homes,
This is due to limited systems and programs for reintegration like poor health systems, lack of rehabilitation programs, weak follow-ups, lack of coordination between prisons, health facilities, prisoners’ families and discrimination from the communities.
Although, fear and mental health issues among ex-offenders further exacerbates their reintegration process, including long distances on release from prisons to their homes, poor geographical locations of health units hence leading to recidivisms, such challenges continue to hinder successful reintegration and continuity of care
In light of the above, TUNMAPS, aim to address clear reintegration programs, including linkage to care, monitor retention and advocate for policy reforms to support inmates, their families, ex-offenders and juveniles in Uganda, if such problems are not well solved, Uganda and the rest of the world will continue sourcing for revenues to cater for unresourceful populations.
What is your solution?
TUNMAPS being an Accredited National Center of Excellence and not for profit actor, our main goal is to steer strategies aimed at strengthening rapid health economic relief, rehabilitation, research, linkages, equity and civic education for prisoners, their families, and communities in Uganda at all levels.
Its done by conducting prisons visits and monitoring to capture demographic data among inmates and prison warders, enhance health programs like health education, psychosocial support, conduct research, ensure digital referrals and accelerate rehabilitation programs, although home-based-visits and monitoring is also done to locate prisoners’ families, enhance home based care, follow up monitoring and track prisoners’ family’s information,
how it works
By capturing health data for inmates, and ex-offenders, including those to be released, mapping nearest and available health facilities, and provide both physical and digital referral of released ex-offenders using SMS platform and referral cards,
Monitoring and evaluation team to track progress, challenges, impact of retention in care and overall health of beneficiaries, including physical and digital follow-ups of beneficiaries at given intervals
Technology it uses.
SMS platform and Electronic Medical Records system (EMR) to aid referral and monitoring, communication calls, emails, district health information systems (DHIS2) and prison information systems
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
The solution targets prisoners prior to their release and ex-offenders released from the prisons, despite prisoners and ex-offenders being most marginalized and stigmatized in their respective communities, they are not specifically targeted for support by the available support mechanisms from the Government and other service providers
More so, It’s the least educated who find themselves in prisons and 90% of prisoners prior to their release from prisons are not prepared for release by the prison systems and some of the prisoners on remand are not aware of their due dates of release, in addition many are ignorant about where to the access continuity of care services after their release.
Other service providers are, juveniles, prison warders, prisoners families, members of the community and community leaders