The Catholic Nonprofit Meeting Inmates’ Health Needs In Nigerian Prisons
ENUGU, Nigeria — When James Chukwu, a prison inmate, began feeling pain in his right eye, he reported it to the management of Enugu Custodial Center last September. In response, the facility asked Chukwu to write his name on a list so he would be examined when an eye care specialist visited.
Six months later, in March of this year, the specialist arrived. After examining Chukwu, he diagnosed him with cataract, a condition where the eye's lens becomes cloudy. The doctor said Chukwu would need to visit a hospital outside the center for treatment.
“I don’t have the money to go out for treatment [and] that was the last time I heard from them,” said Chukwu, who has been at the Enugu Custodial Center since 2000 serving a life sentence due to a land dispute in his community.
With no further help from the center, Chukwu turned to the Carmelite Prisoners’ Interest Organization, a Catholic nonprofit dedicated to improving the welfare of inmates in Nigeria. During a routine medical outreach, CAPIO’s team examined him and, this past May, provided medications for his eye, instructing him to take them nightly before bed.
“The medications reduced the pain. They said they will examine it again when they return,” Chukwu told Religion Unplugged, adding that he has received free medical care and medication from CAPIO at various times, including when he had typhoid fever.
Founded in 1992 by the Discalced Carmelite Friars in Nigeria, CAPIO addresses the health and material needs of inmates across the country. The organization operates through five key areas: Legal, medical, social welfare rehabilitation and advocacy services.
Limited healthcare
There are 81,011 inmates in correctional facilities across Nigeria, according to the World Prison Brief. However, inadequate healthcare remains a significant challenge, contributing to numerous health problems and affecting inmates’ overall well-being. The United States highlighted this in its “Nigeria 2023 Human Rights Report,” noting that overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of medical supplies and limited medical personnel have worsened health conditions in prisons, leading to higher disease burdens and a lack of access to care.
“Lack of potable water, inadequate sewage facilities and overcrowding sometimes resulted in dangerous and unsanitary conditions. Disease was pervasive in cramped, poorly ventilated prison facilities, which had chronic shortages of medical supplies. Inadequate medical treatment caused some prisoners to die from treatable illnesses, such as HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis,” the report said.
These dire conditions prompted CAPIO to begin addressing inmates’ health needs, especially after discovering that medications were often unavailable and that even sick inmates had to pay before receiving treatment.
“Inmates should have the right to receive medical attention [and] medications are supposed to be provided to them free,” said Father Jude Isiguzo, a priest who serves as CAPIO’s executive director. “But you will see that even paracetamols are sold to the inmates. These inmates are not working. Where do you expect them to get money to buy medications? The majority are poor and cannot afford to buy medications. So you see them languishing, suffering and dying.”
To address this gap, CAPIO conducts medical outreach to custodial centers every two to three months. These outreaches offer free general checkups, eye care and vision tests, mental health counseling and therapy, medication distribution and health and hygiene education. With the help of about 20 medical volunteers — including doctors, pharmacists, nurses, lab scientists and record keepers — CAPIO treats over 200 inmates during each visit. Due to limited funding, Isiguzo said CAPIO’s health efforts are currently limited to Anambra and Enugu states, although its other services span more regions in Nigeria.
However, Isiguzo said CAPIO stopped donating medications to correctional centers after discovering that the drugs were being sold to inmates. Still, if a center contacts CAPIO about a sick inmate, the organization immediately provides the needed medication, even before the next scheduled outreach.
“Medical care in custodial centers is suboptimal as the number of medical staff are inadequate to cater to the welfare of thousands of inmates in custody. Unfortunately, the healthcare needs of inmates hardly receive considerable attention in Nigeria,” Isiguzo said. “Medical outreach is necessary to arrest communicable diseases from spreading among inmates.”
Chukwu said CAPIO’s interventions have saved many inmates from serious complications.
“CAPIO is helping us. We appreciate them,” he added. “We have nurses here but nothing is happening.”
‘Emergency health intervention’
Last year, Isiguzo said several inmates died at the Enugu Custodial Center. CAPIO investigated and found that most of the deceased had been sick, but were unable to access timely medical care.
With financial support from Misean Cara and the Sisters of Saint Peter Claver, CAPIO launched an “emergency health intervention.” Starting in December and continuing through March, CAPIO’s medical team visited the Center every Saturday for four months to care for inmates.
“The truth is that the [Nigerian] government is yet to realize that it is their responsibility to take care of the health of inmates in custodial centers,” Isiguzo said. “Whatever is being provided to them is not enough. There should be permanent medical doctors working at custodial centers. If there are medical doctors there, it will reduce the number of deaths.”
Still, Isiguzo said CAPIO’s ability to serve more inmates and centers is limited by funding and an insufficient number of medical volunteers. The organization currently has between 20 and 25 medical professionals, which he said is far from adequate to serve over 3,000 inmates in Enugu State alone.
Beyond healthcare, CAPIO also addresses spiritual and material needs. The organization celebrates Mass at correctional centers and its welfare team regularly distributes food, toiletries, clothing and sanitary items to inmates.
CAPIO also operates a rehabilitation facility called the Center of Hope, where ex-convicts receive six months of livelihood and vocational training. After completing the program, they are given financial and material support to help start their own businesses.
For Chukwu, CAPIO’s work has made a meaningful difference.
“Things would have been worse if not for the interventions of CAPIO,” he said.
Editor’s note: Some of the names in this story have been changed to protect people’s identities.
Ekpali Saint is a freelance journalist based in Nigeria and regular contributor to Religion Unplugged.