<<Print>>

The infirmary of Wa Central Prisons has run out of essential drugs for inmates.

Inmates of the prisons have therefore appealed to authorities to help replenish the health facility with medications to improve health care services.

The situation, according to prison officials, has worsened the health conditions of inmates coupled with other challenges including congestion and insufficient food supply and logistics.

The Prison inmates made this known in Wa during a presentation of assorted food items and cash by the Sunday School Department of Revival Assemblies of God Church to the inmates.

The gesture formed part of the Church’s core mandate to show love and care to everyone, particularly the vulnerable in society”.

The items included two bags of rice, four boxes of key soap and Nido powdered milk as well as an amount of GHc130.00 meant to purchase a ceiling fan for Cell Five, which accommodates about 30 inmates but without a fan.

The onset of the warm season is a nightmare for the prisoners due to overcrowding, a condition that has triggered several calls on Prison Authorities to decongest the eight cells there to prevent any possible outbreak of Cerebral Spinal Meningitis (CSM).

There have been several concerns raised about too many inmates - 29 to 40 cramped into one cell, raising grave health concerns and its implications of continuous cost of importing medicines by government to restock prison infirmaries.

The inmates said many of them have been jailed for close to 10 and 15 years have not seen their families. Their worry is how to be integrated back into their communities after serving their various custodial sentences.

“After we have finished serving our sentences, the next hurdle to cross is how our families will accept us back,” one said.

The government was called upon to create the enabling environment and provide requisite resources to help prisoners gain some employable skills whiles serving their sentences.

This is expected to help prisoners after their jail terms contribute meaningfully to the country’s social and economic development agenda.

The GNA established that, though there was an officer in charge of training the inmates in tailoring there were only three sewing machines are available for over 200 inmates.

Mr Daniel Paaga, an Officer working at the Infirmary, confirmed shortage of drugs at the facility but added that authorities were liaising with officials at the Upper West Regional Health Directorate to see how they could support the infirmary.

A leading member of the Revival Assemblies of God Church, Mr Prosper Konlan, led members of the Sunday School Department to present the items to the prison inmates.

He encouraged the inmates not to give up on their dreams, noting that some important persons like Joseph, Apostle Paul and Silas as quoted in the Bible were imprisoned but later came out to contribute meaningfully to humanity.

He cited Joseph who through toil became the Prime Minister of Egypt – a foreign land - after he was released from prison because of his special gift of dream interpretations.