Grantee Name: Headfort Foundation for Justice

Location: Female Correctional Centre in Kirikiri, Lagos

Project targets: 300 inmates (200 women and 100 men)

Project Summary: The Wellness Behind Bars project is a health-focused intervention aimed at improving the medical and mental well-being of inmates in Nigerian correctional facilities, with a special focus on women. The project delivers free medical checkups, essential medications, mental health support, and welfare items such as clothing and toiletries to incarcerated individuals who are often neglected.

In addition to health services, the project provides legal aid to indigent female inmates to support their bail applications and address unjust prolonged detentions. These services are offered in collaboration with the Nigerian Correctional Service, the Lagos State Ministry of Health, and volunteer medical practitioners.

The initiative is being implemented in key correctional centers, including the Female Custodial Facility in Kirikiri, Lagos, and the Ado-Ekiti Correctional Center in Ekiti State. It also includes mental health outreaches in Akwa Ibom and Enugu States, where women receive trauma counseling and psychosocial support.

The project targets 300 inmates—200 women and 100 men—as well as 100 additional women in communities. It focuses on vulnerable individuals who have limited access to healthcare, legal support, and basic welfare services.

Through its integrated approach, Wellness Behind Bars promotes dignity, improves access to health and justice, and contributes to the broader goal of reforming correctional health systems in Nigeria.