Standing committee finds no medicine in stock at correctional facilitie

By: Selma Taapopi

A recent oversight report by the Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Security, Constitutional and Legal Affairs has shown that most correctional facilities across the country have clinics, but none have medicine in stock.

According to the committee’s findings, the lack of medical supplies is due to poor documentation, which has prevented these clinics from qualifying for medicine allocations from the government.

Efforts are now underway to register all correctional facility clinics with the Ministry of Health and Social Services to address this issue.

The report further notes that while the Windhoek and Walvis Bay correctional facilities each have one medical doctor, most other facilities rely solely on a registered nurse, an enrolled nurse, and a health assistant to handle inmates’ medical needs.

The oversight visits were conducted between 20 January and 25 February 2025.