Gift Health Plus (GHP), a US-based NGO, has donated drugs and other medical supplies to the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), for better healthcare of the inmates.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that officials of the NGO handed the items to the management of NCS at the headquarters of the service in Abuja on Tuesday.
Dr Chamberlain Nwanne, Executive Director of GHP said the gesture was part of the NGO’s humanitarian outreaches towards improving the welfare and wellbeing of inmates across Nigeria.
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Nwanne, who was represented by Irene Adinye, official of the NGO , said that the donation was geared towards supplementing the healthcare the Federal Government was providing for inmates.
“It is with great pleasure that I and other representatives of Gift Health Plus join you here today in our shared commitment to provide quality healthcare to inmates at detention centres in Nigeria.
“ It is said that health is wealth and that is why we want the inmates to have good healthcare, as we have always be coming here to give them food, clothes, and other facilities to help them live well.
“Besides, when they leave here, they will not portray a negative image of the correctional center, so we always want to come back here to assist, to complement government in boosting their health condition.”
According to her, a poor prison health can contribute adversely to public health with far reaching implications, especially for communicable and chronic diseases.
“During this visit, we are providing thousands of doses of assorted medicines for various diseases, including chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, and we also provide prescription eyeglasses and personal hygiene items.
“To help staff do their jobs safely, we are also providing personal protection items like gloves, disposable cover gowns and contactless thermometers,” she said.
The executive director added that GHP understands that basic healthcare is a fundamental human right, and was working in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Earlier in her remarks, Uzoamaka Ifechi-Fred, Assistant Chief Legal Officer, NHRC, who represented the commission at the event , said it was imperative to ensure that inmates have access to healthcare as humans.
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“The National Human Rights Commission protects the rights of every Nigerian, whether you are an inmate you have your fundamental human rights.
“It is important that the right to health of people who are in detention, in custodial centres and in other places of deprivation of liberty is protected.
“ Today, in partnership with Give Health Care, we have done this and call on all well-meaning Nigerians to also approach the commission for such partnership to ensure that citizens’ rights are protected,” she said.
Controller General, Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa, commended GHP for the donation of the healthcare items.
Nababa,who was represented by Mohammed Gombe, Assistant Controller General, Public Health, pledged judicious use of the items by ensuring that different correctional centres benefit from them.
“This is not our first time Gift Health Plus is donating these items to Nigerian Correctional Service, they are members of this family.
”We are proud of Give Health Plus and we will continue to be a partner with you and we will make sure that what is donated today is used judiciously.
“We urge more NGOs to emulate this as our population as a nation is increasing daily and that reflects in all areas of our lives as a nation,” he said.
(NAN)
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