Prison officers are forced to dip into their own pocket and buy drugs for inmates of the Wa prison, Upper West Regional Commander of the Ghana prisons, Victor Douchebe has revealed.

He made the revelation when members of the Upper West Regional Security Council visited the prison.

He said most of the inmates are not registered with the national health insurance scheme and the situation has been compounded by the failure of authorities to supply them with first aid drugs  for the past three years.  

More worrying is the number of youth that have found their way into the prison, Douchebe indicated.

The Wa prison was established 94 years ago with only three cells located at the current Ghana national fire service office.  Eight years after its establishment it was relocated to its current site with an addition of six cells and five offices for the regional commander and other superior officers.

The main challenge for prison authorities is congestion. It was constructed to house 130 inmates but now has a population of 207 inmates with 156 convicts, 47 remand prisoners, three trials and one who is the pleasure of the president.

Victor Douchebe said they have a room for first aid treatment but that can only be described as a white elephant with no single drug in there.

The situation therefore forced the officers to use their own money to buy drugs for the inmates, he reiterated.

He added that the  security fence wall constructed around the prison is on the verge of collapsing.

Chairman of the Upper West Regional Security Council, Ambassador Amin Amidu Sulemani described the visit as an eye opener and pledged that steps will be taken to change the situation.

He however was not happy with the number of young men who were in the prison.

Two of the inmates will be sitting for the November/December West Africa Certificate Examination.

The two said despite the challenges they are grappling with, they will work with the limited facilities in order to pass the exam.