The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has undertaken a major oral health outreach at the Kumasi Central Prison, with prison authorities using the occasion to highlight worsening healthcare challenges caused by overcrowding and limited resources.

The free dental screening and education exercise formed part of activities marking KATH’s 70th anniversary and World Oral Health Day, under the theme, “A Happy Mouth is a Happy Life.”

A team of dental specialists from the hospital provided oral screening, basic treatment and hygiene education to hundreds of inmates at the facility.

Superintendent of Prisons in charge of the Prison Health Centre, Stephen Kumah, described the intervention as timely, noting that many inmates had never received professional oral screening before.

“The situation of oral health in Kumasi prisons is fair. Our numbers are high. It is the government’s responsibility primarily to supply hygiene kits, but it’s not coming as often as we would like,” he said.

“This intervention will boost their oral health because most of them have not had access to oral screening before.”

Beyond oral healthcare, prison authorities painted a troubling picture of broader medical challenges facing the facility.

According to officials, the Kumasi Central Prison currently houses more than 1,600 inmates, far above its intended capacity, a situation they say is worsening health conditions.

Mr Kumah said the prison clinic lacks basic laboratory equipment, essential medication and adequate hygiene supplies, making routine healthcare increasingly difficult.

“The labs lack most of the basic equipment to run on. Medication is also a major problem because we don’t have funding for it affecting most of the prisoners,” he stated.

“Some of them have respiratory tract infections, especially those with chronic asthma when the weather becomes hot or extremely cold. The place is overcrowded and they are developing skin conditions which are also running our coffers down.”

The outreach was led by KATH Chief Executive Officer, Dr Paa Kwasi Baidoo, and Head of the Dental Department, Dr Daniel Sabah.

They called for sustained support from corporate institutions, organisations and individuals to improve conditions in correctional facilities across the country.

Dr Akotoye Isaac, who led the KATH dental team at the prison, said access to oral care would be more effective if inmates also received regular supplies of hygiene products.

“To be able to properly take care of themselves and their oral health, they would need education, proper toothpaste, brushes and sanitaries,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Unit of the Kumasi Central Prison said the outreach aligns with the Ghana Prisons Service reform agenda dubbed Think Prison 360 Degrees, which seeks to improve the welfare of both inmates and officers.

Corporal Emmanuel Boateng Agyemfra appealed to benevolent individuals and organisations to support the prison’s planned drug bank and medical centre with medicines and equipment.

The prison service says such interventions are critical as authorities continue to grapple with overcrowding and rising healthcare demands within the correctional system.