St Kitts and Nevis: Mental Health program launches in collaboration with Taiwan

St Kitts and Nevis: The government of the twin island nation prioritizes mental health by launching a Mental Health Service System Enhancement Project in collaboration with the Republic of China (Taiwan). The mutual agreement for the upcoming project was signed through the Embassy in Basseterre on 30^th July 2024.

This new initiative has been taken in response to the rise in stress related problems in the country causing poor metal health. “This project is designed to strengthen the services and access to mental wellness care in the Federation.” PM Drew stated in his social media post.

The prime minister further highlighted the need for such initiatives emphasizing that mental health is important in enhancing the overall wellbeing of a person. He also highlighted that a significant percentage of people require an assistance for mental health making it an extremely crucial project.

“I made a promise to the people that access to mental wellness services would be a significant pillar of the revamped healthcare system” PM Drew added.

The PM further noted that the mental wellbeing will be given topmost priority in terms of investment among any other sphere of health as it plays crucial role in establishing a sustainable island state.

The Prime minister during the meet stated that the need for mental health has become more crucial since the outburst of COVID- 19 pandemic.

“The whole world went through a traumatic event which was COVID where people didn’t know if they would live or die … and that is significant mental stress and trauma for some,”

On the other hand, the ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Michael Lin stated that the government is aware of the critical link between Physical and mental health, in response to which public awareness has been kicked off.

“A society that is well educated about mental health would encourage people to reach out and ask for help when they need it. This new project will continue the efforts of health screening with a focus on mental health. There will also be education sections to share knowledge and information about mental health with the general public,” Ambassador Lin said.

Prime minister Drew thanked the Republic of China (Taiwan) for partnering with St Kitts and Nevis in expanding mental wellness care across the nation. He then stated that the government has hired more psychologists, counsellors and invested a lot more to this project for an advanced treatment to the citizens.

Notably, the project will run until July 2027 and will be implemented by both the nations through the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF). The project is reported to be the third ICDF supported health project in St Kitts and Nevis.