The CEO of Cayman Aids Foundation hit out at Cabinet ministers this week after a string of emails he sent to them over the past month have gone unanswered.
In a Facebook post, Noel Cayasso-Smith, said his initial email to Health Minister Sabrina Turner requesting a meeting was delivered a month ago and has since been met with silence.
His follow-up complaints to fellow ministers also have had no response.
The foundation president wrote that he was saddened by the “rudeness and disrespectfulness” he felt he has been shown.
“When dealing with the government it should not be this difficult to secure a meeting or discuss important matters,” he added in his post on Thursday, 23 March.
Meeting request
Cayasso-Smith, who heads the community-based HIV and Aids organisation, said he first sent an email to the health minister on 21 February.
The message was to ask for a meeting to discuss some difficulties the foundation had been facing to do with its community outreach programmes.
In the email, he explained why he was requesting the meeting and spoke of the importance of discussing the possibility of assistance from the Ministry of Health.
There was no response.
The organisation drafted a follow-up email on 3 March explaining that it had not received any acknowledgment or response to the first email sent. Again, no response.
On 17 March the foundation sent a complaint to Premier Wayne Panton and former Minister of Finance Chris Saunders. To date, no-one has responded.
‘Everyone matters’
“As government officials, they all need to remember who voted and help them to be elected to office,” Cayasso-Smith wrote in his social media post.
“But it seems like citizens are only important during election time. After our votes are cast and the government is formed, we are no longer needed.”
He expressed concern about the level of care the health minister has for the well-being of Cayman’s communities – including those with HIV or Aids.
“We need to stop being treated like doormats and be treated like we matter, and our voices mean something,” the foundation president said. “Everyone matters, you don’t get to pick and choose who you feel is important.”
According to Ministry of Health figures, since 1985, 188 people in the Cayman Islands have been recorded as having HIV of which 83 progressed to Aids.
The Cayman Aids Foundation aims to educate people about HIV and Aids, advise on safe practices, promote regular HIV testing and prevent discrimination.
The Compass reached out to the health minister for comment and is awaiting a response.
The Ministry of Health told the Compass following a request for comment that since the post it has been in touch with Cayasso-Smith and a meeting has now been arranged.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on 27 March to include the response from the Ministry of Health.
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