There is a need to improve medical care at immigration detention centers, the head of the country's recently created Immigration Services Agency has said, following widespread criticism of the care available to detainees.

The detention system for those who have violated immigration law or whose applications for asylum have been rejected has been widely criticized for its medical standards, monitoring of detainees and response to emergencies.

In June, a Nigerian man who had been on a hunger strike died at an immigration center, becoming the 15th death since 2006.