Ms Devora Kestel, PAHO/WHO, Mental Health Regional Advisor, arrived in the Cayman Islands on Monday, 14th July, to assist the Mental Health Commission (MHC) with the World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) survey. The meeting was facilitated by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with PAHO.

This WHO-AIMS tool was developed by World Health Organization to assist countries in the collection of essential information on the mental health system of a country. The goal of collecting this information is to improve mental health systems. With the collection of the information, as a country we will be better able to develop appropriate policies and plans for mental health, and identify our strengths and weaknesses.

The report when completed will give us a clearer picture of gaps in our mental health system, providing us with the knowledge to make the necessary improvements as needed.

During her visit, Ms. Kestel met with the Minister of Health, Chief Officer and members of the MHC. She provided a brief overview of the WHO-AIMS tool and stated that since its inception 35 countries in the PAHO region have had their WHO-AIMS reports published. In addition, they have found the information very useful in the development of their mental health policies and programmes.

Minister Bodden expressed that he was very pleased at the work of the MHC and looked forward to receiving the WHO-AIMS report. He thanked Ms Kestel for her technical advice and support to the Cayman Islands.

Photo caption: taken by Information Officer Bina Mani

L to R: Pastor Dale Forbes, Olivaire Watler (Deputy Chair, MHC), Devora Kestel (PAHO Consultant), Janett Flynn, Dr Marc Lockhart(Chair, MHC), Hon Minister Bodden, Jennifer Ahearn (Chief Officer), Dr Taylor Burrowes (Deputy Chair), Kimberly Voaden, Julene Banks