Support began in 2003 with a $247,000 grant to a pan-European NGO called EUFAMI, for a program to combat stigma and discrimination in people with severe mental illness and their families. Specifically the Foundation funded an advocacy development workshop to train spokespeople - usually family members and caregivers of those suffering from mental illness - to bring the message against the stigma and discrimination that surrounds mental illness across Europe, targeting health professionals, the media, policy makers and the general public.

Working with the International Medical Corps, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation supported a pilot, 16-month, community-based mental health program for about 200,000 women affected by the traumas of the war in Afghanistan in the Shomali Plain region north of Kabul. The program involved providing training to female health professionals who offered counseling, treatment and educational services for area women. They focused on common mental illnesses including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. During the pilot approximately 30,000 women received treatment and nearly 14,000 women availed themselves of individual or group counseling sessions. In addition, trainers were trained, new clinics established and a model for other areas was created. Also, resource centers were established to provide training to women in income-generating projects.