Governance Bodies

Molwyn Morgorson Joseph, born 25 February 1948, in Antigua and Barbuda, has been for 35 years a significant government leader of his sovereign Caribbean country.

The Honourable Molwyn Joseph serves in the Government of Antigua and Barbuda as Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment, since 2014. While holding this significant portfolio, Minister Joseph has led his country down an environmental path which has gained international recognition for the innovative and bold decisions which his Government has adopted.

Minister Molwyn Joseph captained—in the Parliament—legislation that banned the importation and use of single-use plastic shopping bags, commonly provided by supermarkets and other retailers. They were replaced by re-usable canvas bags, ending a history of the ubiquitous plastic scourge on highways, fences and trees, and in gutters and clogged drains. The population of Antigua and Barbuda embraced the change, following a vigorous campaign led by the Ministry of the Environment. Several Caribbean countries have since followed suit.

Minister Molwyn Joseph also induced the Parliament to ban the importation and use of Styrofoam food trays, cups, bowls and other food containers made from this environmentally-harmful material. The products are a danger to human health when consumed by fish and other wildlife, and despoil the environment when accumulated around the tropical reefs which guard our island shores. Plastic spoons, knives and forks, which would be regularly deposited in precious landfills, have also been replaced by bio-degradable cutlery.

As the Minister responsible for Health, Minister Joseph and his medical team have worked towards ensuring that mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS virus is at zero. In September 2018, Antigua and Barbuda could boldly announce that no child born to an HIV-positive mother carried the virus. Zero transmission was achieved. That is a remarkable accomplishment in any country. This achievement was recognized by the PAHO, and a validation certificate was awarded to Antigua and Barbuda.

The Pan American Health Organization has also determined that Minister Molwyn Joseph’s advocacy to suppress cigarette smoking across Antigua and Barbuda is deserving of a World Health Organization Award on No Tobacco Day 2019. The Minister, an elected Member of Parliament, caused the lawmaking arm of Government to amend the Tobacco Law, prohibiting smoking in public spaces and the selling of cigarettes to minors. Antigua and Barbuda was the very first state in the Eastern Caribbean to have taken such measures to discourage smoking.

The Mount St. John Medical Center is the lone public hospital in Antigua. Six kidney transplants have been successfully undertaken there within the past 24 months, at the insistence of Minister Joseph; more are planned. No other island in the Eastern Caribbean has undertaken this alternative treatment. The number of men and women who receive dialysis treatment daily continues to increase. Organ failure has increased as hypertension spreads across the population. A vigorous campaign to arrest the spread of the disease, to educate everyone on the dangers of hypertension, and the need to follow strict dietary and exercise regimens, as well as treatment by medicines, characterize the public relations outreach by the Ministry of Health under the leadership of Minister Molwyn Joseph.

The Honourable Molwyn Joseph has served as Minister of Finance, Minister of Tourism, and held other portfolios during his 35 years in public service. He earned his undergraduate degree in the USA and was given special responsibility while working for a multinational on the US West Coast. He is highly respected in international fora for the clarity of his presentations and the strength` of his commitment to high and enduring standards always. His towering intellect and articulate presentations cause him to be admired by all.