The RTD concluded that the lack of a budget allocation could not justify the prolongation of this health problem. Instead, all relevant agencies should work together and formulate short, medium, and long-term solutions to address the problem effectively. Hence, SUHAKAM recommends the setting-up of a special committee to discuss all the recommendations proposed at the discussion. The committee shall review and plan the implementation of the recommendations in stages to reduce the problem of scabies in detention centres and its prevention in the long run. 8. ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON ACCESS TO HEPATITIS C VIRUS (HCV) TREATMENT IN PRISON SETTING SUHAKAM, Positive Malaysian Treatment Access and Advocacy Group (MTAAG+) organised an RTD on access to Hepatitis C treatment in a prison setting on 3 December. This was a follow-up to MTAAG+’s findings from its random research/survey on three prisons, namely Pengkalan Chepa Prison, Bentong Prison and Seremban Prison which revealed that HCV is highly prevalent – an average of 41% - among prisoners, especially those with a history of intravenous drug abuse. The findings from the 180 prisoners who volunteered for the survey from the three prisons (60 per prison) fit the high-risk HCV criteria. The RTD was an opportunity to raise awareness of HCV in Malaysian prisons and what needs to be done. A total of 96 participants from MOH, Malaysian Prisons Department, National Anti-Drugs Agency, SUHAKAM, and various NGOs working with ‘People Who Inject Drugs’9 attended the discussion During the discussion, it was explained that Malaysia’s current practice is to screen for HCV only if there are symptoms or signs of the virus. This contrasts with international standard policy where the screening is done proactively. Another potential problem in Malaysian prisons is that, even if screening is done properly, there are high chances the treatment will not be available because of limited supply or the high cost of treatment. The Prisons Department’s role in giving access to Hepatitis C treatment in prison settings is limited to its capacity, based on the existing policy guidelines. 9 44 https://www.who.int/teams/global-hiv-hepatitis-and-stis-programmes/populations/people-who-injectdrugs ANNUAL REPORT 2020