New York, USA — September 25, 2025……..On the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister the Hon. Gaston Browne co-chaired a high-level Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) roundtable on “Political Action & Investment for Mental Health Equity,” alongside Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). The session gathered government leaders, health agencies, philanthropies, and private investors to convert commitments into financed, scalable programmes across Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the wider Americas.
Prime Minister Browne framed mental health as a core development and productivity issue, not a peripheral concern, and called for delivery at scale—policy reforms backed by predictable financing, measurable outcomes, and services embedded where people live and work.
Prime Minister Browne said: “Mental health equity demands political will and real money. We must put services where people are—schools, clinics, workplaces, and communities—fund them sustainably, and measure results. For small islands on the climate frontline, investing in mental health is an investment in resilience, productivity, and human dignity.”
Key themes from the roundtable include discussions on the economic imperative, during which it was highlighted that untreated mental ill-health costs the global economy trillions in lost productivity; returns on investment are strong when countries scale primary-care services, prevention, and early intervention. It was agreed that there is the need to integrate mental health into schools and workplaces and embed psychosocial support in disaster preparedness and response.
It was also highlighted that climate-related disasters intensify PTSD, anxiety, grief, and eco-anxiety—requiring targeted financing and models tailored to small states. The grouping therefore agreed that mental health must be mainstreamed into resilience strategies, recognising how environmental shocks compound social and economic strain.
The discussion on financing & delivery pinpointed that there is the need to align public budgets, philanthropy, and private capital to expand primary-health-care–centred services, suicide-prevention programmes, workforce training, and digital mental-health access with strong privacy and data systems.
The discussion also showcased practical delivery models and new commitments that can be replicated globally—positioning Antigua and Barbuda at the forefront of linking climate resilience and mental-health equity.
To sustain momentum, Prime Minister Browne invited PAHO to co-host a Regional Mental Health Summit in Antigua and Barbuda in 2026. The Government will work with PAHO and roundtable partners to shape a deliverables-focused agenda—including primary-care integration, suicide prevention, youth mental health, digital access, and climate-related psychosocial support—alongside a financing plan and measurable targets.
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