Barbados is moving to build its own pharmaceutical industry, a shift Minister of Technological and Vocational Training Sandra Husbands said could reduce reliance on imports, expand research for Caribbean populations, and create new high-skilled jobs.

As the House of Assembly took up the Barbados Medical Products Bill for its second reading, Husbands said the initiative marks a significant step towards decolonising the Caribbean psyche and dismantling longstanding complexes of economic and intellectual inferiority.

She argued that centuries of colonial rule had left an enduring psychological legacy that often leads citizens to undervalue their own capabilities, intelligence, and the rich natural resources around them.