CARPHA Creating a Platform for Action

by HCC

Stakeholder Dialogue Improving the Healthiness of Food Environments in the Caribbean

CARPHA Creating a Platform for Action: Stakeholder Dialogue Improving the Healthiness of Food Environments in the Caribbean

Earlier this week on June 22, 2016, CARPHA hosted a Stakeholder Dialogue Improving the Healthiness of Food Environments in the Caribbean as part of their 61st Annual CARPHA Health Research Conference [link again to respective conference page].  The dialogue provided the opportunity to bring varied stakeholder views and experiences to bear on this pressing health challenge, to learn from the research evidence and from the views and experiences of a wide cross section of participants, and to leave the event well positioned to champion efforts to address this health issue.

HCC was well represented at the meeting by Sir Trevor, HCC President and HCC Advisors in Policy and Trade Policy, Nicole Foster and Vincent Atkins respectively. Nicole, also an Attorney-at-Law and Law Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Cave Hill Campus, University of the West Indies, Barbados commented:

Overall the dialogue was a very productive exercise.  There was a good and appropriate mix of the various stakeholders in the NCDs battle which, together with the ‘dialogue’ format that was utilised, facilitated useful and concrete interactions among and between participants. I am really glad I attended and had an opportunity to make a contribution to the deliberations.

HCC Special Advisors in Policy and Trade Policy, Nicole Foster and Vincent Atkins

HCC Special Advisors in Policy and Trade Policy, Nicole Foster and Vincent Atkins

Vincent Atkins also LDC Trade Policy/Technical Advisor in the Office of Trade Negotiations at the CARICOM Secretariat noted that:

The workshop highlighted the importance of multi-sectoral dialogue in the efforts to improve the healthiness of the food environment in the Caribbean and in particular allowed for a thorough discussion on the evidence pertaining to the effectiveness of the whole-of- government and whole-of-society approaches in addressing non-communicable diseases in the Caribbean. It also highlighted the importance of the legislative process in implementation of measures to address NCDs. In my own view, order tramadol cod overnight there is a dire need to address the governance of multi-sectoral collaboration in health to ensure that the institutional framework to ensure successful outcomes is properly addressed.

In this regard Vincent will be attending a symposium organised by the John Hopkins University School of Public Health in Bellagio, Italy next week from 27 June to 1 July. The symposium will focus on Governance of Multi-sectoral Collaboration for Health in Low and Middle Income Countries.  The purpose is to accelerate learning and action among key players for stronger governance of multi-sectoral collaboration for health within low and middle income countries. 23 experts will meet to discuss five papers on the topic. Vincent will be the discussant on a paper Multi-sectoral Governance for NCDS in European Countries: what can be learnt for lower and middle income countries.

CARPHA Evidence Brief

Dr. Andrea Yearwood, Senior Health Policy Analyst at CARPHA, and co-author of the evidence brief noted that each time CARPHA conducts a dialogue, they prepare an evidence brief on the issue.

CARPHA Evidence BriefThe briefs are developed to present the available research evidence on the issue in order to inform deliberations during the dialogue.

Dr. Yearwood shared the key messages emerging from the dialogue:

  1. Focus on children adopting a rights-based approach
  2. Draw on experience from responses to tobacco and HIV
  3. Explore options for developing model legislation for the region
  4. Explore multisectoral engagement at the political level, that is, politicians vs technocrats
  5. Explore avenues for reaching out to average citizens to stimulate a bottom up response
  6. Develop networks of civil society organizations at the national level
  7. Strengthen the role of consumer associations/groups

Meeting materials

For more information and updates on the 61st Annual CARPHA Health Research Conference visit the website here and their facebook page here.