Incarceration: the state of being confined in prison; imprisonment.

HIV/AIDS: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By damaging your immune system, HIV interferes with your body's ability to fight the organisms that cause disease. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection.

The state of Louisiana has 64 parishes that house 132 jail and adult detention facilities, with a population of 30,950 inmates. The Pelican State spends $17,486 per inmate per year. The national average is $32,142 per inmate. This means Louisiana taxpayers pay 46 percent less than other states per inmate.

Louisiana has the highest rate of incarcerated adults. According to data from the Department of Justice's National Institute of Corrections (NIC), Louisiana's has an incarceration rate of 108 percent higher than the national average. The national average of incarcerated people per 100,000 people is 392. Louisiana's average is 816.

As of 2012 there were 18,430 people living with an HIV or AIDS diagnosis. There were 1,398 new diagnoses in 2013 and 471 deaths in 2012 due to HIV/AIDS. Sixty-nine percent of people living with an HIV diagnosis in 2012 were men, and 31 percent were women. Sixty-eight percent of people living with an HIV diagnosis in 2012 were black, 4 percent Hispanic/Latino, and 25 percent white. In 2012, 66 percent of HIV cases in men were from male-to-male sexual contact, 11 percent were from injection drug use, and 9 percent were from injection drug use and male to male sexual contact. For women in 2012, 77 percent of HIV cases were from heterosexual contact, and 21 percent were from injection drug use.

In all, Louisiana has the highest rate of incarcerated adults, spends very little money per inmate, and has two cities that rest within the top five cities nationally with the highest rates of HIV (New Orleans is No. 2 and Baton Rouge is No. 3—Miami is No. 1).

But what does all of this mean for prisoners with HIV/AIDS?

According to a 70-page report released by the Human Rights Watch, HIV services in Louisiana prisons are basically non-existent. Out of the state's 104 parish jails, only a handful offer HIV tests to inmates upon entry. Once in jail, HIV treatment can be delayed, disrupted or denied all together.

The Human Rights Watch found that the state Department of Corrections (DOC) operates a two-tiered system that neglects HIV services for the nearly 18,000 state prisoners housed in parish jails. Louisiana’s nine state prisons offer access to HIV testing, treatment and a strong federally funded program for connecting inmates to medical care upon release, yet state prisoners housed in local jails lack access to these programs. Unfortunately, the DOC assumes that jails will identify people with HIV and transfer them to state facilities for treatment, but that does not always happen, even if they disclose their status to jail officials.

According to the Human Rights Watch, the government is obligated to to provide medical care to those prisoners with HIV that reside in parish jails. Criminal justice reform is necessary in order for prisoners with chronic conditions to receive treatment and also to promote and protect public health.