Thousands of calls have been made to Lifeline Barbados since it was launched last year, with a peak of more than 700 calls last month.
Minister of Health Senator The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott gave an update Wednesday on the hotline, which was launched in early 2024 following complaints that more people were struggling with mental health problems and suicidal ideations.
“From February 1, 2024, to May 2, 2025, the helpline received 6 572 calls, reflecting a steady demand for support. Issues ranged from anxiety, depression, suicidal and homicidal ideation, substance abuse and social challenges,” Walcott said.
He shared that information during the opening of the 69th CARPHA Annual Research Conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael. The conference, which runs until tomorrow [today], is being held on Mental Health: The Hidden Pandemic.
Walcott said that the callers have been facing challenges with numerous issues.
“There were 740 calls recorded last month, the highest number for a month since the start of the programme, the data highlights ongoing reliance on this vital service. A high-resolution rate and positive feedback affirm its crucial role in Barbados’ mental health landscape,” he said.
During his presentation, Walcott said the Government was doing more to improve access to mental health services and mental health school-based programmes, strengthening peer-to-peer support networks, creating platforms for young voices and working with the Pan American Health Organisation to update the Mental Health Act.
He said that although strides have been made more must be done to reduce the stigma that surrounds the illness.
“The greatest threat we face is stigma. We must confront and dismantle the deep-rooted scourge surrounding mental health. Stigma keeps too many of us silent, it delays treatment, deepens suffering, and in its most devastating form, leads to preventable loss of life. This cannot continue.
“We must replace shame with empathy, silence with conversation and fear with understanding. Only then can we create a society where mental health is recognised, supported, and prioritised for all,” he said.
That, the Minister stated, required a cultural shift, at the personal level and extended into every institution, from the family unit, to educational systems, faith-based organisations, to the legislation.
“We must work to normalise mental health dialogue in the public and private spaces. We must amplify the voices of survivors and advocates and foster a climate in which seeking help is not regarded as weakness but is recognised as an act of courage and strength to our young people.”
CARPHA’s executive director Dr Lisa Indar said that mental health should not be sidelined.
“It is not an afterthought, it is central to the health of our societies. Nearly 1 in every 8 people globally, live with a mental disorder and right here, around 15 per cent of our disabilities are linked to mental health conditions.
“These are not just statistics, these are stories, families’ lives interrupted or put on hold,” Indar said.
She said some lessons were learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and agreed that more must be done to shine a light on the mental health crisis.
“The COVID-19 pandemic taught us valuable lessons about global health preparedness and response. Yet running parallel to this visible crisis has been a less visible but equally devastating pandemic; the deterioration of mental health across populations worldwide,” Indar said.
Assistant director of PAHO Dr Rhonda Sealey-Thomas made similar comments and agreed that the importance of mental health could not be understated, considering how the COVID-19 pandemic changed people’s lives.
“The COVID-19 pandemic amplified mental health challenges, even in previously unaffected populations, resulting in a 35 per cent increase in major depressive disorders and a 32 per cent increase in anxiety disorders in 2020. The pandemic underscored that mental health is a key aspect of individual and collective well-being, with implications for equity and development,” she said.
Suicide, is a major public health crisis in the region, she said adding that it claimed the lives of more than 100 000 people each year, making countries in the Caribbean among the highest suicide rates worldwide.
Additionally, she said, despite the substantial burden, mental health receives only a small fraction of total public health spending, which averages three per cent in the region.
“The majority of this investment goes to psychiatric hospitals instead of community-based services, where people can receive more effective and accessible care, grounded in a human rights-based approach, helping to reduce stigma and discrimination,” she added.
Sealey-Thomas, however, applauded the efforts across the Caribbean to decentralise mental health care from psychiatric hospitals, building capacity at the primary health care level using the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Mental Health Global Action Programme (mhGAP).
