Dr Terrance Drew, Prime Minister and Minister of Health, has signed an agreement with Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Federation, Michael Lin, to launch the Mental Health Service System Enhancement Project.
This project will be conducted for the enhancement of policy-forming capacities on mental health prevention and control, the training of healthcare professionals, health facility for mental function enhancement, and promotion of public knowledge of mental disorder prevention.
Emphasizing on the project Ambassador Michael Lin stated that sound body and mind are inclusive of good health. As Lin continued, “A society that is well educated in matters of the mind is one that indeed encourages people to reach out for help when needed.”
Expressing confidence in the fruitful impact of the project mentioned, Ambassador Lin further noted, “This new project will continue the efforts of health screening but with an emphasis on mental health and education sessions to share knowledge and information about mental health with the general public.”
PM Terrance Drew underscored the importance of the project, especially in the period post the COVID-19 pandemic, as that has triggered a wave of diagnoses of different forms of mental health afflictions.
“The whole world went through a traumatic event which was COVID, where people didn’t know if they would live or die. That is a significant mental stress and trauma for some,” Dr Drew said.
PM Drew, however, was quick to point out that his government still invested in mental health services, as he said, “to provide additional resources to continue this very important work in providing full care for those who suffer from this condition.”
“We hired more psychologists and family counsellors. My office personally created a fund to support more family counsellors so they can give care at the grassroots level. This project is part of our further investment,” PM Terrance Drew said as he thanked the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
The Mental Health Service System Enhancement Project will be of three years in duration, ending in July 2027. The project will be carried out through technical cooperation between the Governments of St Kitts and Nevis and Taiwan, via the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF). It’s the third ICDF-assisted health project in the federation, with the first two focusing on chronic kidney diseases and chronic metabolic diseases.
This partnership is a milestone toward raising an infrastructure for mental health services in St Kitts and Nevis and represents an attempt to create an informed society that will be able to address the problems emanating from the challenges associated with mental health.
