More than 110 inmates living with HIV are facing severe medical neglect inside Freetown’s heavily congested correctional facilities, according to an alarming new report released by a human rights watchdog.

Following a monitoring visit to the Sierra Leone Correctional Services (SLCS) on February 17, 2026, the Campaign for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI) uncovered what it describes as a “catastrophic breakdown” of safety, dignity, and basic human rights, with the prison’s healthcare system virtually collapsing.

The most dire conditions are falling on the sick. CHRDI documented 97 male inmates and 15 female inmates who are currently HIV-positive and trapped in facilities where healthcare services are “virtually nonexistent or severely limited.”

In addition to the HIV crisis, monitors found 26 male inmates battling Tuberculosis (TB) and 11 inmates suffering from mental illnesses without proper care.

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Despite the high concentration of infectious diseases, medical infrastructure within the prisons is woefully inadequate. The male correctional facility, which currently holds 1,802 inmates in a space designed for just 324, relies on a “poorly developed make-shift hospital.” This clinic contains only 16 sick beds to serve the massive population and fundamentally lacks essential medical equipment and supplies. At the time of the visit, 15 people were already admitted to these limited beds.

The situation is similarly bleak in the female unit. Providing care for over 200 female inmates, the clinic has only five hospital beds and a rotating staff of five nurses—sometimes leaving only a single nurse on duty at a given time.

The medical neglect is severely compounded by deplorable living conditions. Inmates are facing a severe shortage of clean water and adequate nutrition. The lack of consistent water has rendered sanitation facilities “unfit for human living.” Furthermore, extreme overcrowding—with up to 13 people crammed into cells meant for a single occupant—makes social distancing impossible, creating a breeding ground for the further spread of TB and other infectious diseases among the vulnerable population.

This health crisis is playing out against a backdrop of severe judicial delays. The CHRDI report notes that hundreds of inmates are being held without indictment for years beyond legal limits, meaning many of the sickest individuals are languishing in these hazardous conditions without having been formally convicted of a crime.

In response to the findings, CHRDI is issuing an urgent call to the Government of Sierra Leone for immediate humanitarian intervention. The organization is demanding that every detainee be granted access to professional medical care, clean water, and sufficient food.

“No nation can claim progress if its correctional facilities remain centers of human degradation,” stated Abdul M. Fatoma, Chief Executive of CHRDI. “Justice must be more than a legislative promise; it must be a functional reality for every Sierra Leonean.”