The Ghana Prisons Service has launched a nationwide Medicine and Equipment Bank to address longstanding healthcare gaps within correctional facilities.
The initiative, unveiled in Accra on Thursday, was designed to ensure a reliable supply of essential drugs and medical equipment to prisons across the country. It forms part of the Service’s broader “Think Prisons 360°” agenda, which sought to reposition correctional centres as institutions that prioritise rehabilitation, safety, and human dignity.
Launched under the theme, “Prison Health is Public Health: Strategic Mobilisation of Drugs and Medical Supplies for Prisoners Across the Country,” the programme was a timely intervention, particularly amid growing concerns over the management of chronic and communicable diseases in Ghana’s prisons.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of Prisons, Mrs Patience Baffoe-Bonnie (Esq.), described the initiative as a reflection of a collective commitment to safeguarding the health of both inmates and officers.
She noted that the platform would serve as a coordinated system for mobilising and distributing medical supplies across prison facilities.
She further emphasised that the initiative extends beyond healthcare, stressing that access to quality medical care is a fundamental human right.
The Chairman of the Pharmacy Council of Ghana, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, urged stakeholders to support the initiative through timely donations of quality medicines.
The Managing Director of SIC Life Insurance, Mr Solomon Twum Barima, and the Minister for Local Government, Madam Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, pledged their support and encouraged other organisations to contribute.
Judith Twumwaa, ISD
