Project Name：Mental Health Service System Enhancement Project in St. Kitts and Nevis

Project status：Projects in Operation

Cooperating Country：St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis

Project Description：

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the international community increasingly recognizes the importance of mental health and its impacts on global social and economic development. It is also included in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to illustrate the significance of mental health well-being. Mental health conditions are increasing in prevalence worldwide, and people affected by these conditions die as much as two decades earlier due to preventable physical ailments. Thirteen percent rise in mental health conditions and substance use disorders was recorded over the 2007-2017 period, chiefly due to demographic changes. Two of the most common mental health conditions, depression and anxiety, cost the global economy US$1 trillion each year.

Mental illness is also a significant concern for St. Kitts and Nevis (SKN), and improved community-level support services would solve many of the mental health-related problems in the country. SKN’s barriers to implementing mental health reform include a lack of trained mental health professionals and care providers, a lack of mental health care personnel at medical and healthcare facilities, and a lack of epidemiological data for policy reference. This project is designed to help correct these limitations and to enhance mental health service accessibility in the nation. The major elements of the project include: 1) enhancing policy-forming capability for mental health; 2) strengthening healthcare personnel capacity in mental healthcare; 3) strengthening mental healthcare functions at medical and healthcare facilities; and 4) raising awareness of mental health disorders.

Region：Caribbean

Implementation Start Date：2024-09-01

Implementation End Date：2027-08-31

Project Objectives：

The objectives of this project are:

A.     Enhance policy-forming capabilities for mental health prevention and control

(A)   Conduct community mental health screenings and produce an epidemiological report for policy-making reference.

(B)   Invite officials from the MoH who are in charge of health policy planning to visit Taiwan to learn about Taiwan’s policies and practices for mental health.

B.     Strengthen healthcare personnel capacity in mental healthcare

(A)   Complete 5-week training programs for 6 mental health-related medical care professionals (such as general practitioner nurses, nurses and etc.) in Taiwan so that they can become seed instructors in SKN; organize at least 8 online case study meetings with TVGH consultants.

(B)   Conduct 5 local training sessions on mental healthcare to train at least 30 healthcare personnel by seed instructors.

(C)   Organize at least 4 workshops for non-psychiatric professionals in medical institutions to raise awareness of mental health and reduce mental disorder stigmatization.

C.     Strengthen mental healthcare functions at health facilities

(A)   Provide necessary care facilities for the psychiatric ward at JNF Hospital, such as wall cushions.

(B)   Improve the occupational therapy facilities at the Day Treatment Center on St. Kitts and the Behavioral Health and Wellness on Nevis.

(C)   Provide essential materials for both safety and occupational therapy for JNF Hospital, the Day Treatment Center on St. Kitts and the Behavioral Health and Wellness on Nevis.

D.     Raise public awareness of mental health disorders 

(A)   Produce at least 3 health education leaflets for the public (including students) and patients, with themes including signs of mental disorders, etc. ; distribute 5,000 copies to those in need.

(B)   Hold at least 5 in-person campaigns, with topics like Ten Things You Should Know About Sleep Problems.

Executing Agency：

International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) / Taipei Veterans General Hospital / Ministry of Health, St. Kitts and Nevis

Implementation Arrangement：

Members of the Project will provide technical assistance and assistance for capacity building.

Current Progress：

The project implementation agreement was signed on July 30th, 2024, and the project will be officially commenced and implemented on September 1st, 2024.

Project Performance：

Enhance the accessibility of mental health services in SKN.

Project Contact：Feng-Ta Tsai

Phone：(02)2873-2323#6061

E-mail：f.t.tsai@icdf.org.tw

Signing Date：2024-07-30

Mission：Taiwan Technical Mission in Saint Kitts and Nevis