On Thursday 9 May, the Manager of the AICS Office in San Salvador, Paolo Gallizioli, and the General Director of the Penal Centres, Osiris Luna signed the agreement for a new cooperation initiative between Italy and El Salvador. The agreement was also signed after review by the Italian Ambassador to El Salvador Edoardo Pucci, together with the Minister of Justice Gustavo Villatoro and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexandra Hill Tinoco.
The project “Redevelopment and connection tests: technologies at the service of the Management of Penal Centres”, financed by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation for an amount of €1.5 M, contributes to the strengthening of telemedicine and the hearing system virtual in the penitentiary system of El Salvador.
The project will support the renewal of healthcare equipment in dental departments and the institutionalization of telemedicine, through technological resources that improve the accessibility of medical care and the training of the staff involved. Particular attention will be paid to health services aimed at the female prison population and girls and boys born during their mothers’ detention.
Furthermore, a system of virtual hearings will be developed through the acquisition of technological equipment and the creation of designated spaces in penal centres. This will help reduce the phenomenon of overcrowding in prisons and make justice times more efficient, ensuring the application of the fundamental principles of a trial.
The initiative will concern five penal centers in El Salvador, benefiting not only people deprived of liberty, but also healthcare workers and security personnel, helping to provide the tools, training and protocols necessary to carry out the activities.
This intervention strengthens the commitment of the Italian Cooperation in the justice sector in El Salvador and Central America, where for years we have been working on the issues of prevention and restorative justice, involving in particular young people in conflict or at risk with the law.