Florence Afriyie Mensah/Victoria Agyemang
Ankaful (C/R), Nov. 5, GNA – Water and sanitation sector players have donated quantities of relief items to inmates of the Ankaful Maximum Prison as part of activities to climax the 33rd annual MOLE water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conference.
The items included bags of rice, cleaning detergents, toiletries, sanitary towels, first aid medications, boxes and tins of tomatoe paste, cooking oil, dustbins and 20 pieces of veronica buckets.
Ms. Beata Awinpoka Akanyani, Chairman of the MOLE 33 Conference Committee, who presented the items, said the sanitary items were to assist in the daily activities of the facility.
The sector players, she indicated, thought it prudent to involve all persons, especially vulnerable groups such as prison inmates in their quest to improving the water and sanitation situation in the country.
The year’s conference, organised by Ghana Coalition of NGOs in the water and sanitation sector (CONIWAS), focused on Ghana’s commitment to WASH services delivery as an enabler to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal Six (SDG) WASH target.
It highlighted cutting-edge partnerships with education, health, economic and environment sectors in delivering cost-effective, affordable and inclusive WASH services.
The five-day event was on the theme: “Ghana’s Commitment to Water Sanitation and Hygiene: Connecting Systems to bridge service delivery gaps.
The team took the opportunity to assess the water and sanitation conditions of all the three prisons location at Ankaful; Ankaful Maximum Prison, Main Prison and Annex Prison Camps.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed that the water, drainage and sewage systems at Ankaful Maximum Prison showed an improvement in the quality of WASH service delivery in the facility.
Again, all the three prisons camps visited, had toilet and washroom facilities in all rooms and outside the prison parameters.
Superintendent of Prisons, Vincent Zinel, Central Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service, said Ankaful Maximum Prison, the second state-of-the-art prison complex in Africa, had only 1,419 inmate even though it could contain more than 2,000 inmates.
He expressed gratitude to the players for the gesture and pledged to use the items for the intended purpose.
GNA