Health Minister Dr. Duane Sands yesterday announced his ministry’s intention to bring mental health issues to the forefront in the country.

 He said that this issue has been “a stepchild” when it comes to national considerations and the Ministry of Health will begin its attempts to right this wrong. 

He said that his ministry’s allocation for $1.8 million also impact areas of his ministry’s work related to the issue. 

“What this means is that mental health services will be brought closer to the communities where people live through more coordinated mental health services with the hopes of dismantling decades of stigma and discrimination; and mental health screening incorporated into regular visit to the doctor,” he said.

The minister added that be that as it may, the solution to violence and crime will not be found on East Street, Fox Hill, in parliament, in our courts, HOPE or the L.E.A.D institute. 

While he noted that these are necessary and important contributors, he said, for sustained decreases in homicides, rapes, intimate partner violence and the like, the government must explore the root causes of violence considering traditional and non-traditional theories. 

He said, “In fiscal year 2019/2020 my Ministry will direct resources to and confirm  private public collaborations for advancing our collective understanding on the impact of the nutrition on the expression of violence in our young men and women.”

“Specifically, we see how our food choices are contributing to slow dietary suicide…obesity, hypertension, diabetes and cancer. It is quite possible that the malnutrition of our people is also contributing to the high rate of homicide,” he added.