Adolescent health services were expanded to seven polyclinics from Monday as the Ministry of Health and Wellness launched its Yuh Good programme and website — yuhgood.gov.bb —, aimed at supporting young people aged 10 to 19.
The health care programme is expected to treat a range of conditions, from physical trauma, reproductive health, communicable and non-communicable diseases to mental health, self-harm and substance use.
Minister of Health Davidson Ishmael described Monday’s launch, held at the Frederick Miller Polyclinic at The Glebe, St George, as an important milestone in addressing adolescent health.
The programme began in 2025 after Cabinet approved and funded an initial two-year Barbados Adolescent Health Action Plan, 2025–2026.
The plan aligns with the wider Barbados National Adolescent Strategic Plan, developed with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), which proposes a 10-year strategy to address the needs of young people.
A multidisciplinary adolescent health working group was established to support the programme and develop national standards for delivering adolescent health services.
“These standards provided the framework for the implementation of the adolescent health clinics at our polyclinics,” said Ishmael.
Adolescent health clinics were introduced at the Eunice Gibson, Randall Phillips and Winston Scott polyclinics in 2025.
According to polyclinic figures, 111 adolescents were seen, of whom 67 per cent were between the ages of 15 and 19. For these adolescents, there were 60 referrals to other services, of which 32 or 53 per cent, were to the doctor and 14 or 23 per cent, were for mental health services.
The clinics were expanded in 2026 to the St Philip, Maurice Byer, David Thompson and Frederick Miller polyclinics, bringing the number offering adolescent health services to seven of the island’s nine polyclinics.
The programme has six strategic areas of action: positive development; violence, accidents and injuries; sexual and reproductive health, including HIV; communicable diseases; non-communicable diseases; and mental health, self-harm and substance use.
The Shaw Centre for Paediatric Excellence supports the programme through training in paediatric and adolescent health.
Medical specialists have also received subspecialty training in adolescent health in areas including obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry and paediatrics.
Chief Nursing Officer Annastasia Jordan described the Yuh Good Barbados Adolescent Health Programme as a national call to action to check in, listen and care for young people.
She said: “Our vision is that every young person in Barbados will feel confident asking for help when they need it, supported by a strong, skilled nursing workforce and the partnerships that sustain it. The Yuh Good Barbados Adolescent Programme is a national commitment to adolescent health, bringing families, communities, advocates and health professionals together. Within the wider effort, nurses will continue through nurse-led initiatives, ensuring people have safe spaces, stress test guidance and professional support.”
Jordan also highlighted the Teen Wellness Connect programme, which is delivered in schools through the ministry’s mobile clinic: “This special clinic offers nutritional counselling, mental health support, healthy lifestyle guidance and coping skills with peer support in settings that are familiar, private and youth-friendly.
“It removed barriers between care providers and teams, making access to information and guidance on health normal and easy. This initiative, this innovative model of care, allows for the establishment of trust between nurses and adolescents. The programme is now in its second year, currently working with two secondary schools.”
Ishmael said the community component of the programme includes Teen Wellness Connect and a suicide prevention programme in secondary schools.
The programmes were piloted in 2025 with fourth- and fifth-form students at the nation’s two single-sex public high schools: Springer Memorial and St Leonard’s Boys’.
“The programme also seeks to establish adolescent health hubs and has engaged stakeholders such as BFPA (Barbados Family Planning Association). On June 1st of this year, an adolescent health hub commenced at the Derek Smith School in collaboration with the Eunice Gibson Polyclinic. The programme also delivered presentations at the 2026 National Sports Council camps.”
The adolescent health working group is also collaborating with Mission Barbados and the Ministry of Education Transformation through student councils to expand Teen Wellness Connect and suicide prevention programmes in secondary schools over the next two to three years.
The Yuh Good adolescent health hub is now online at yuhgood.gov.bb.
(LG)
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