Inmates within Ghana's prisons face far-reaching difficulties including inadequate feeding quotas and lack of sanitary resources.

The inmates are also vulnerable and exposed to harsh health implications as a result of their troubling living conditions. 

Shedding light on these difficulties, the Chaplain of Kumasi Central Prisons, Reverend Stella Katso, appealed to corporate bodies and individuals to contribute to help mitigate these challenges.

Ghana's prisons have been monumental facilities for rehabilitation, punishment, and reintegration. 

However, many pressing concerns are being raised about the conditions within the prisons, including the Kumasi Central Prison which accommodates over 3,000 convicts, remand prisoners, and inmates on trial. 

Inadequate feeding allowance and non-availability of proper sanitation resources, especially in the female wards, characterize the prison. 

The Chaplain of Kumasi Central Prisons is therefore calling on entities to extend their benevolence to prisoners. 

“We want to appeal to the general public that whoever wants to come and help us is welcome because our feeding fee is 1 cedi 80 pesewas for an inmate, which is not enough. Churches, individuals, and corporate organizations visit us; we need sanitary pads for our female prisoners, food items, and toiletries. We have a school here. We have a health facility here so you can come and donate books to us. You can come and also donate medical equipment to our health facility. We're calling everyone to help the prisons,” she said. 

She was speaking during a donation exercise by the Ashanti Presbytery Women in Fellowship of EP Church Ghana. 

“We thank the Ashanti Presbytery Women in Fellowship for visiting the prisons and donating these chairs and assorted items for our prison inmates. These chairs here will go a long way to help our inmates in sitting down and the assorted items in ensuring the welfare needs of the inmates,” she added.

The donation included 60 chairs, bundles of sanitary pads, food items, and packages of toiletries. 

Treasurer of the Ashanti Presbytery Women in Fellowship of EP Church Ghana, Mrs. Grace Adinkra, said the severity of the condition in the prisons motivated the fellowship to embark on the gesture.

“Our women in prison are having problems with sanitary pads, even the schools. The schools don't have sanitary pads. And it has become very expensive nowadays to get sanitary pads for them. Same as here with our women in the prison yard. Circumstances brought them here. So getting a sanitary pad is a problem.

“Considering all these, EP Church Ashanti Presbytery, Women in Fellowship today, has embarked on the project to offer our brothers and sisters at Kumasi prison a helping hand. That is why we are here with the sanitary pads. To help them at least to alleviate the problems that they are going through,” she said. 

The donation forms part of the annual celebration of the Ashanti Presbytery Women Fellowship.