The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), is making significant progress towards the development of a Draft Mental Health Policy and Bill for Saint Lucia.

Recognizing the importance of public participation in shaping this vital legislation, the Ministry has embarked on a series of town hall meetings to gather feedback from citizens and stakeholders. This outreach aims to ensure that the policy and bill reflect the realities, needs, and concerns of the population.

Public consultations were held on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 at the Castries City Hall and on Thursday August 14, 2025 at the Vieux-Fort Infant School. The session brought together facilitators and members of the public for an engaging and informative discussion on mental health priorities and the proposed legislative framework.

Officials emphasized that contributions from the public will play a critical role in refining the draft, ultimately helping to strengthen Saint Lucia’s mental health services and protect the rights of individuals living with mental health conditions.

Senior Medical Officer for Non-Communicable Diseases, Dr. Shana Cyr-Philbert, stressed the need for inclusivity in the mental health policy process to ensure all citizens have the opportunity to share their views and concerns.

“Mental Health is actually a right of our whole population and in trying to do this we need to be inclusive, we need to make sure that everybody has the information about what we’re trying to do, but also that everyone has that opportunity to give information and to get feedback, to voice concerns because we do have many gaps in terms of how mental health is looked at even, or managed and we have a vulnerable population, we have an aging population so we want to make sure everybody is part of this process.”

PAHO’s Country Program Specialist for Saint Lucia, Fiona Anthony, outlined the organization’s role in providing technical support to the Ministry of Health in reviewing and upgrading the Mental Health Policy and Bill.

“PAHO would be providing the technical support in supporting the ministry to upgrade and review the mental health bill and policy. Following the request from the Ministry we would have put together the necessary technical team to come into Saint Lucia to provide that support. So the first mission happened in June and now we’re on the second mission here to meet with different stakeholders to help gather the necessary information and feedback as to what person’s would want to see in the bill and the policy, so this is all in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, understanding the strategic direction the Ministry wants to go with these two pieces of documentation.”

Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Soumitra Pathare explained that a mental health policy serves as a crucial anchor for governments, guiding long-term planning and the delivery of essential services.

“You know people always think of policy as just a piece of paper which is written and forgotten but it doesn’t have to be so and it is not so because if governments are to plan, let’s say if the government was to plan and let’s say we want to do something more for mental health next year, how do they plan that, they need something to anchor it on and how do you anchor it, the policy acts as the anchor. So you say ok here are the actions and policy that we agreed we are going to do over the next 5, 10 years and you just start doing them one by one. So the policy provides a guidance for governments to decide what kind of services they want to build, where should they be located, who should be providing this services.”

With the combined expertise of local health officials, PAHO’s technical support, and international best practices, the initiative aims to establish a strong legislative framework that safeguards the rights of all citizens, improves access to services, and ensures that mental health remains a national priority for years to come.