DOC/OS(XXXHI)/324c/I 39 had many cases of prisoners escaping on their way to hospital in other circumstances, which led to the dismissal of some of their colleagues who were escorting the escapees. At Rundu police station, during their visit to the cells, the Special Rapporteur's delegation met three sick persons who were in a very bad state, but who had not been taken to hospital, although it was only a short distance from there. One of them had a written appointment to return to the hospital five days earlier for his haemorrhoidal illness to be monitored. The prisoners expressed their concern that at meals they were forced to share a plate. They believe that they are at high risk of being contaminated from untreated sick fellow inmates. At the Elisabeth Nepemba Juvenile Rehabilitation Centre, the most frequent illnesses are malaria, and diarrhoeic and pulmonary diseases. There was only one case of tuberculosis and one of AIDS under observation at the hospital. During the period of 2000-2001 there were two deaths in the centre. At Hardap prison, a nurse and two assistants work in the prison clinic, seeing about 120 patients per day. The most frequent pathologies are high blood pressure and pulmonary diseases including tuberculosis and AIDS. At the time of the visit of the Special Rapporteur's delegation, there were 18 prisoners with AIDS and 12 suffering from tuberculosis. The most serious cases are transferred to the central hospital of Mariental, located 15 km from the prison. Since January this year, 25 prisoners have been hospitalised there. Prison overcrowding has repercussions for the prison clinic. Thirteen patients were under observation in an observation room with a capacity for seven beds. Furthermore, the prison's medical section does not have hot running water due to a breakdown in the system and the patients expressed a desire for it to be repaired. Four deaths have been registered since January 2000. HIV/AIDS According to a 1999 report of the UNDP office in Namibia, since 1998 Namibia has joined the group of countries considered as most affected by AIDS with at least 20% of the active population ill with the disease, leading to a general lowering of life expectancy from 58.8 years in 1995 to 55.8 years in 1998. This high national prevalence of AIDS is obviously reflected in the prisons where the environment favours homosexual relations and other factors that promote the disease. Prisoners take the AIDS test under different circumstances. The doctor may recommend the test at first for prisoners with various pathologies that seem banal, but who do not get better within the usual time frame. Also the prisoners sentenced to more than two years in prison are encouraged to be tested. The test is always preceded and followed for those who are HIV positive with counselling. In some prisons there are educators to raise the prisoners' awareness about AIDS. They work in collaboration with the prison medical staff. In the other prisons, especially those that do not have a medical service, these educators come from outside. However, the delegation found that sessions to raise awareness about AIDS in those prisons were usually sporadic and were not always based on appropriate educational material. Posters about AIDS were not visible except near the clinics of these prisons. In order to be released for reasons of bad health, prisoners with AIDS must be completely bedridden and their state of health certified by three different doctors other than the prison doctor, who is only responsible for recommending the patient to begin with.