CARICOM Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Programme

The CARICOM Youth Mental Health (Psychological) First Aid Programme is a specialized regional initiative designed to equip youth leaders, social workers, and educators with the skills to recognize, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among Caribbean youth.  

The groundwork for the initiative began in 2022 when a regional mental health survey highlighted high rates of depression, anxiety, and isolation among young people, findings later solidified by a joint CARICOM-UNICEF study. In response, the CARICOM Secretariat’s Youth Development Programme formally launched this program in August 2024, rolling out extensive training that has continued to scale across the region. 
 
Key Program Pillars & Strategy

The initiative shifts mental health support away from strictly clinical environments and embeds it directly into Caribbean communities through a peer-support and first-responder framework:

   The CARICOM-PAHO Partnership: The program is executed through a strategic agreement with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). This ensures that the training provided is scientifically grounded, culturally relevant to the Caribbean, and aligned with global psychological first-aid standards.  

   Targeted First Responders: Rather than training psychiatrists, the program focuses on "gatekeepers", youth directors, community officers, regional youth leaders, and peer advocates aged 18 to 35. These are the individuals most likely to interact with a struggling young person on a daily basis