{"id":192276,"date":"2016-02-22T13:00:14","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=192276"},"modified":"2016-02-22T13:00:14","modified_gmt":"2016-02-22T13:00:14","slug":"water-crisis-nsawam-prisoners-battle-with-skin-diseases-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/02\/water-crisis-nsawam-prisoners-battle-with-skin-diseases-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Water crisis: Nsawam prisoners battle with skin diseases [Photos]"},"content":{"rendered":"

The water crisis that has hit the Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipality, is taking a toll on inmates of Ghana’s biggest prison facility in the area, which\u00a0is home to over three thousand prisoners.<\/p>\n

During a visit by Citi News<\/strong> to the prison, inmates were seen in long winding\u00a0queues, holding empty gallons and buckets in search of water.<\/p>\n

Some of the inmates told Citi News<\/strong> they were contradicting skin diseases as a result of the situation.<\/p>\n

The Male Prison<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In front of one of the mechanized bore holes, inmates have gathered, to draw water.\u00a0 But it is the survival of the fittest; those who get access to the water are the ones who are the strongest<\/p>\n

The inmates\u00a0\u00a0 complain that they have been infected with skin diseases as a result of the water shortage.<\/p>\n

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The male prison has five boreholes;two mechanized, three manual.<\/p>\n

But one mechanized borehole and another one that is operated manually have broken down.<\/p>\n

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Eastern regional\u00a0 Public\u00a0 Relations\u00a0 officer of the\u00a0 Prisons\u00a0 Service, DSP\u00a0 Courage Atsem \u00a0 showing one of the boreholes that has broken down<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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At the infirmary, the taps are not flowing and the only borehole to serve\u00a0 the infirmary is not functioning.<\/p>\n

Infirmary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Following\u00a0\u00a0 the acute water shortage,\u00a0 there has been an increase in the number of skin diseases.<\/p>\n

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ASP Peter Dakurah is the medical assistant at the infirmary at the male prison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He has been working at the Infirmary for the past four years treating quite a number of medical cases including skin diseases.<\/p>\n

He told Citi FM\u2019s \u00a0Pearl Akanya Ofori on Friday that, on Monday three people\u00a0 reported to the facility with\u00a0 chicken pox and other skin diseases warning that the number would increase due to the acute water shortage that has hit the facility.<\/p>\n

\u2018The inmates\u00a0 don\u2019t have enough water to\u00a0 bath, so the number will definitely go up”<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>In order to mitigate\u00a0 the impact of the water shortage on the inmates\u00a0 at the Male prison,\u00a0 authorities at the male prison \u00a0have to spend\u00a0 not less than 750\u00a0 Ghana cedis\u00a0 a day\u00a0 on water\u00a0 tanker services and\u00a0 that\u00a0 is not enough\u00a0 to serve the inmates.<\/p>\n

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Female prison\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the female prison, the taps are also not flowing.<\/p>\n

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A female inmate trying to open the tap in the washroom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unlike the male prison, the females don\u2019t have a borehole within their yard which means they have to go outside the yard to draw water from a borehole.<\/p>\n

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The inmates walk here to draw\u00a0\u00a0 water from a borehole<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>This is a source of worry to the officer in charge at this facility, DDP Charity Araba Magnusen.<\/p>\n

While seated in her office, DDP Charity Araba Magnusen told Citi FM, the situation had put an extra burden on her officers because they had to work overtime to provide security for inmates who were not permitted to go outside the premises to draw water.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2019 Some of the inmates are not allowed to go out because of the offence they have committed but we have no choice than to let them go out to fetch water<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong>Pressure on few boreholes at the officers barracks\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Back at the quarters, officers at the barracks are also feeling the pinch of the water shortage.<\/p>\n

In front of their blocks, their wives have gathered in front of a borehole to draw water<\/p>\n

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This water source is shared among the people at the quarters and the rest of the Nsawam Adoagyiri community.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

–<\/p>\n

By: Pearl Akanya Ofori \/Citifmonline .com\/Ghana
\nFollow @pearlakanya<\/a><\/p>\n