New dormitories have been unveiled at the Jeshwang detention center and handed over to the Gambia Prisons Department by the Government of The Gambia, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
The works have been realized in partnership with GAMWORKS through ‘We Khan’ Construction Company with UNDP provided funding which enabled the refurbishment and rebuilding of new Prison dormitories at Jeshwang Detention Center and at Mile 2, which has been further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. The support to the Prisons also included 200 bunkbeds and 200 mattresses provided by GCCI.
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Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic
According to Aissata De, the Resident Representative of UNDP, the innovative approach of the partnership with the private sector such as GCCI, was premised on the Agenda 2030 principle in order to leave no one behind, and this includes prisoners as well, during the COVID-19 response. This was vital to ensure that the detainees of the congested Mile 2 Prisons were also spared from the fatal spread of the pandemic.
Ansumana Manneh, the Prisons Service Director General said that, The year 2020 has been a very difficult year for the world, but thanks to the UNDP and the GCCI, it has been a progressive year for the Gambia Prison Service, due to the newly built dormitories, PPEs and the renovation of the infirmary.
