On the premise that the right to health and medical care is a fundamental human right that does not lapse due to the deprivation of liberty, volunteers from the Public Aid Organization were at the heart of two health and awareness campaigns carried out in August in correctional facilities in Sulaymaniyah and Al-Muthanna governorates, in partnership with the Justice Network for Prisoners (JNP) and the Office of the Human Rights Commission.
In Sulaymaniyah, the “Health Week” campaign ran from 9 to 13 August 2026, with the volunteer teams of the Sulaymaniyah office serving as the backbone of its field implementation, in cooperation with a number of health institutions and civil society organizations. Volunteers took the lead in reaching inmates directly to meet their needs through medical examinations and consultations, awareness sessions on disease prevention and the risks of drug use, and hygiene and psychosocial support activities alongside the provision of basic health supplies.
In Al-Muthanna, over five days, from 23 to 27 August 2026, the organization’s volunteers carried out a similar effort inside Samawah Central Prison, in coordination with the Justice Network for Prisoners and the Office of the Human Rights Commission in the governorate. The volunteers did not limit their role to delivering health services; their presence extended to supporting personal hygiene, providing direct psychosocial support to inmates, organizing cultural and recreational activities, and supplying basic necessities.
In both governorates, it was the volunteers’ presence on the ground that turned a rights-based commitment from a stated principle into a lived reality inside the walls of correctional facilities — affirming that protecting inmates’ rights and ensuring their access to dignified, non-discriminatory health care is a responsibility that begins with, and is realized through, direct volunteer action.
