Senegal: National Assembly adopts law on prisoner health

The National Assembly of Senegal adopted bill no. 39/2026 regarding healthcare in prison settings on September 30, 2026, in Dakar. According to the Senegalese Press Agency (APS), 130 deputies voted in favor, including 18 by proxy, in the presence of the Minister of Health and Social Action, Ibrahima Sy.

The text is a parliamentary initiative, led by deputies Khady Sarr, Anta Dia, Cheikh Faye, and Mamadou Lamine Diaïté. It is based on a simple observation: until now, no coherent legal framework organized healthcare behind the walls of Senegalese prisons, which left disparities in treatment between free citizens and incarcerated individuals.

What the text changes

According to Le Soleil, the law enshrines in Senegalese law the equal access to healthcare for prisoners, patient consent, medical confidentiality, and the professional independence of caregivers working in prisons. Amendments introduced by the government also reinforce the prohibition of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and clarify the rules regarding consent and confidentiality.

The text also provides for provisions for the most vulnerable groups: pregnant women, elderly prisoners, people with disabilities, and those requiring psychiatric care. These are all situations where confinement exacerbates vulnerability.

An alignment with African and international commitments

The new framework refers to the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules, which set the minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The chair of the relevant committee, Khady Sarr, saw this as a step toward a penitentiary system that is, in her words, "respectful of human dignity." For his part, Minister Ibrahima Sy welcomed a "widely shared concern."

The question of resources remains. During the debate, several deputies insisted on the lack of medical staff, medical equipment, and sanitary facilities in penitentiary establishments, and on the need to produce reliable health data to guide prevention and screening. A right enshrined in law is only as good, in prison as elsewhere, as the infirmaries, doctors, and budgets that bring it to life.

The health of prisoners remains a blind spot in public policy across much of the continent, where prison overcrowding fosters tuberculosis and infectious diseases. By legislating, Senegal is placing this subject on the table of public debate.