DOC / OS(XX.XIII)/324c/II The authorities at the local police station of Mbarara said that sick persons are transferred to hospital when necessary. This information, however, was not confirmed by the suspects who complained of being given insufficient food, and said this had affected their health. Six out of eleven suspects had clearly lost a considerable amount of weight to judge from the size of their waist. In the police station of Kasese, the infirmary is a small office fitted out within the police centre, at a distance of 1 km from the station. A qualified nurse and one assistant work in it. The infirmary serves the police staff and their families, and eventually suspects. The general hospital is a distance of about 65 km. It was observed that this infirmary is open for only a few days each month to distribute its allocation of drugs. The rest of the time, the infirmary remains closed and the chief nurse works in the police station in his twofold capacity as police officer. Further to talks with the suspects, it was found that none of them knew about the existence of the infirmary. However, they did say that the chiefs of police always managed to buy painkillers for those suspects who were ill and did not have families to help them. At Mbale Police Station, the suspects said that the most seriously ill persons were always taken to the police infirmary in the police centre or to hospital for treatment. Only one said that he suffered from reduced vision because of having been kept in a cell for such a long time. The others said they had no illnesses. The medical service in the juvenile prison of Nagguru, under the Ministry of Gender, Work and Social Development The infirmary in the juvenile prison of Nagguru (which had about 134 detainees on the day of the delegation's visit) is managed by an assistant nurse. She does not receive any drugs from the supervisory department or any other departments. Normal operation of the infirmary is ensured by regular assistance from the Italian NGO COWA, which supplies drugs and food for the patients. Furthermore, a doctor from this NGO comes to the infirmary once a week. Serious cases are taken either to the private clinic of Namela or to the Naguou clinic in Kampala. COWA pays all the expenses for the treatment of the patients transferred to these clinics. Awareness raising among juveniles with regard to AIDS is also carried out with the support of this NGO. The prison has had two deaths in 2002, one from tuberculosis and the other from epilepsy. The prison authorities requested the ministry responsible for prisons to allocate a budget for the purchase of medicines and to second a qualified nurse to manage the infirmary. Water, sanitation, bathing and toilet facilities Article 39 of the Constitution states that "every Ugandan has a right to clean and healthy environment". This is clearly not the case in Ugandan prisons. Soap provision is insufficient — sometimes non-existent — and detergents are seldom distributed. Most often, soap availability depends on external donations (Red Cross, NGOs, relatives) or on prisoner's capacity to buy it. In several places, prisoners washed themselves only with water (Tororo local prison, Mbale police headquarters, those in Masaka whose relatives live too far to come). Women in Masindi had got no soap since 1m December, while others had got three bars (six pieces in a bar) for 26 persons. Men in the same prison said they had not received any soap from the authorities since the Ebola Epidemy in December 2001. The Officer in charge explained that this was depending on funds available. In Murchison Bay, relatives were allowed to supplement whatever was needed, including soap. Cleaning material are lacking including at police stations. Toilets are usually insufficient, located next to the cells and dormitories. Prisoners have to use buckets at night (Luzira Upper and condemned section). Sometimes, these buckets are also used for other purposes (Kasese police station). There are some pit latrines (Kasese 27