RIGHTS BEHIND BARS A Study of Prison Conditions In Zimbabwe 2018 municipalities. The right to health care services is recognised in the Zimbabwean Constitution as well several international instruments to which Zimbabwe is a party. At the practical level, the majority of Prisons are provided with and never ran out of anti-retroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS inmates. However, health infrastructure proved to be a challenge at many institutions and patients were treated in make-shift rooms with no privacy and adequate facilities for the storage of medication. The shortage of trained medical staff at many prisons clinics compromises the quality of the care that is given to prisoners and it is important for the State to provide the much needed resident health care professionals. Generally it has been observed that Prisons comply with the obligation to take the necessary measures to protect the health of prisoners and to ensure that they receive medical attention when they are sick as required by international and domestic standards. However, the quality of service provided by non-resident doctors and nurses who make ad hoc visits is of a lower standard due to the limited time available than the service that could be provided by resident doctors and nurses. Apart from the need to provide support services to medical staff and prisoners, the State should always provide protective clothing to health care staff and prioritise clinics that provide treatment to vulnerable detainees; these include mental health patients, persons with disabilities, child offenders and the like. It is worth noting that the Constitution and international instruments adequately protect detainees’ rights to education, vocational training and work. The absence of educational programmes and learning facilities at custodial institutions violates detainees’ and prisoners’ right to education. It prevents intellectual development and, in the case of sentenced prisoners, it makes full integration upon release impossible. Furthermore, there were very few teachers in light of the number of inmates and resources were very scarce. Accordingly, the government should take all appropriate measures to ensure access to education by all children of compulsory school going age and to encourage all prisoners to take part in educational and vocational training programmes. There are specific guarantees conferred only upon juveniles in detention. Both the Constitution and international instruments provide for the right of every accused juvenile person to be separated from adults during pre-trial and post conviction detention. This has been achieved by establishing separate prisons for young offenders and setting up of juvenile sections in adult prisons. On this issue, the government has largely complied with its international and domestic legal obligation to ensure that young offenders are kept separately from detained persons over the age of 18 years. However, the establishment of separate institutions or sections for youth offenders is not of itself sufficient for the State to comply with international and domestic law. These institutions should be child-friendly and staffed by well-trained and child friendly officials. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence demonstrated that notwithstanding the unique nature of young offenders’ prisons, such institutions operated like any other prison, with no special safeguards for the young inmates. 10 EGAP