By Hou Akot Hou
At least 720 inmates in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr El Gazal state have received sanitary materials.
The donation is part of efforts from the government to help reduce health hazards that the convicts in prisons are facing.
According to an official at the Ministry of Rural Development and Investment, the support is meant to help reduce cases of health concerns reported among the inmates, which include skin diseases, among others.
Dut Deng Gabriel, the Director General in the ministry, said on Tuesday that the intervention is meant to prevent the inmates from infections.
“We have given soaps to all the 720 inmates. Each beneficiary gets a bar of soap to help them wash their clothes and bathe, so that diseases are contained,” Deng said.
“The coordination that the ministry made is in consultation with the organizations that are working on health issues in the state, and these people are part of the community or society that they serve,” he added.
Deng revealed that the donation of the cartoons of soaps was delivered by a national organization known as the Center for Emergency and Development Services (CEDs).
Mary Abuk, one of the inmates said the donation is well received and lauded the donors for the support.
“What the ministry officials and the CEDs who donated these soaps to us did is too appreciated, and we appeal to them so that they give this support to all inmates in the custody or prisons across the state,” she appealed.
Partners working under rule of law have been reporting in most meetings that most of the prisons in the country are over congested.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) being one of the partners links the congestion to delayed execution of justice, resulting to backlog of cases.
Inadequate human resource in the judiciary department, deliberate intent of some judges and lack of fundings, are among factors responsible for delayed justice.
However, over congestion of prison cells comes with numerous challenges such as incapacitating prison wardens, food insecurity and diseases.