{
  "id": 15753816,
  "title": "‘My officers are suffering’ – Director-General of Prisons calls for welfare interventions",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/my-officers-are-suffering-director-general-of-prisons-calls-for",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-20T13:31:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/my-officers-are-suffering-director-general-of-prisons-calls-for-welfare-interventions/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ghana's Director-General of Prisons, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, has called for welfare improvements for prison officers, describing their working conditions as \"hell\" and appealing for additional support. During a meeting with the Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, October 20, she highlighted the psychological, emotional and physical strain prison officers face due to living and working alongside convicted individuals.\n\nMrs. Baffoe-Bonnie emphasized that prison officers endure difficult conditions that extend beyond the workplace, resulting in considerable depression among staff. She further pointed out that the Ghana Prisons Service has been struggling to attract qualified personnel due to the challenging environment and low salaries. During the last recruitment exercise, the number of individuals seeking to purchase recruitment forms for the service was significantly lower than that of other security agencies, indicating a lack of interest in joining the profession.\n\nThe Director-General specifically urged for a contagious disease allowance for officers who may be exposed to infectious diseases in prisons where the health status of inmates is unknown. Currently, allowances are only provided to officers working in designated contagious disease prisons, which she argued is not sufficient. She urged policymakers to prioritize addressing this issue before considering broader salary-related concerns, arguing that the financial implications would be minimal compared to the potential benefits for officers' well-being.",
  "summary": "The Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, has described the conditions under which some prison officers work as “hell”, appealing for welfare interventions, including a contagious disease allowance, to improve their working conditions and protect their well-being.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}