A/HRC/28/68/Add.4 screening to counter the high risk of contracting non-communicable diseases as a result of poor diet, or infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis or HIV. Section 22 of the Prisons Act stipulates that medical personnel are appointed as ex officio medical officers for the prison when on site and report to the Ministry of the Interior, not to the Ministry of Health. 82. The Director General of Prisons reported that a new medical facility had been built at Mile 2 Central Prison and a doctor had been assigned on a part-time basis to that prison and the Jeswang Prison. However, it was also reported21 that only a few nurses or medical assistants were present; they were overstretched and so underequipped that even the most basic equipment and medicines were lacking. 83. The Special Rapporteur heard that inmates requiring urgent hospitalization routinely experienced delays or were denied treatment. They are brought to the main hospital only in extreme cases and often too late. While the Government did not provide statistics, the Special Rapporteur was informed that prisoners had died of neglect, from the failure of prison staff to comply with a doctor’s orders or from lack of access to health care. No staff focus specifically on mental health. On average, one prisoner dies every month out of the approximately 150 inmates at the confinement wing of Mile 2 Central Prison, and two death row prisoners died in September 2012 because they had been denied health care.22 Sanitation, sleeping arrangements, work and education opportunities 84. The Special Rapporteur consistently heard about inhumane conditions due to cells being overcrowded, damp, extremely hot, poorly lit and poorly ventilated. He was advised that inmates often slept on the floor without a mat or blanket. During the summer, temperatures are extremely high and there are no ceiling fans or other measures to reduce the heat. In the rainy season, wet and damp conditions contribute to poor health. Unsanitary conditions are reported, in particular in the remand and the maximum security wings of the Mile 2 Central Prison, where detainees only have access to a bucket and there are no separate toilet facilities. 85. According to the Government, there are educational and vocational training opportunities in the prisons to promote the social rehabilitation of prisoners. However, even in the remand wing of Mile 2 Central Prison, detainees are locked up in their cells for 18 hours a day.23 In 2013, a library was built at Mile 2 Central Prison. However, such opportunities are not accessible to those considered political prisoners or serving lengthy sentences. Discipline 86. Section 65 of the Prisons Act sets out the exceptional instances when corporal punishment can be imposed on male prisoners. Corporal punishment should be prohibited under all circumstances. 21 22 23 A delegation of the international community visited Mile 2 Central Prison in July 2014 but was only permitted to access the common areas of the prison and not the cell blocks. See Gambia Human Rights Network, report submitted ahead of the universal periodic review of the Gambia, 2014. Available from http://gainako.com/?p=4785. See “Special report: Mile 2 remand wing condition worsens”, Fatu Radio Network. Available from www.faturadio.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=435:special-report-mile-ii-remandwing-condition-worsens&lang=en. 15