AISA Member School, ARIS Featured in Global Health Publication

AISA is proud to celebrate the contribution of Al-Rayan International School (ARIS) to a landmark global publication launched September 2025 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on Mental Health in New York.

The Compendium on Bridging the Divide: NCDs and Mental Health, curated by the MHPSS Collaborative in partnership with the Columbia-WHO Center for Global Mental Health, the CPC Learning Network, and Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health—represents a bold global call to recognize the interdependence of mental health and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and to reimagine prevention from early childhood through adulthood.

Within this groundbreaking publication, the ARIS Lead Counselor, Priscilla Adjei-Mensah, contributed a think piece titled “From Stress to Systems: Embedding Mental Health Leadership in Schools to Prevent NCDs” (p.46–51). The article highlights the often-overlooked role that schools play as the earliest and most universal environments for identifying and addressing NCD risks. It draws upon ARIS’s own journey in developing a culture of mental health leadership and wellbeing, offering a model for how schools in diverse contexts can act as catalysts for mental health equity and long-term NCD prevention.

This contribution brings a distinct Ghanaian and African perspective to a global conversation, affirming that innovation and leadership emerging from African international schools are shaping not only educational practice but also public health policy and systems thinking worldwide.

As part of the AISA community, ARIS continues to exemplify how international schools can lead meaningful change, bridging health, education, and wellbeing for a more sustainable future for our students.