Members of the Antigua and Barbuda Wellness Committee
A three day NCD Commission Consultation meeting in Antigua & Barbuda (ATG), 8-10 August 2016, provided an opportunity to continue COMSEC’s technical cooperation (TC) with Ministries of Health in Caribbean countries to establish/strengthen multisectoral National Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Commissions (NNCDCs), as recommended in the 2007 Port of Spain Declaration on NCDs by the CARICOM Heads of Government. The TC began with an assessment of NNCDCs in September 2015, which was done in partnership with the HCC and led to the publication of the document “A Civil Society Report on National NCD Commissions in the Caribbean – Towards a More Effective Multisectoral Response to NCDs, Part I“. Subsequently, in response to an identified need to provide guidance to Commissions for their establishment and strengthening, the COMSEC-HCC partnership produced the draft document “A Framework for the Establishment and Strengthening of National NCD Commissions – Towards a More Effective Multisectoral Response to NCDs, Part II“.
In order to facilitate the finalization and dissemination of Part II, COMSEC-HCC’s further TC involves piloting the draft Implementation Framework (IF) in selected countries and obtaining feedback, along with identification of priority needs for additional TC. A COMSEC-HCC consultant, Dr. Beverley Barnett, was identified to carry out the tasks, and ATG was one of the countries selected. The ATG meeting went well, with the Minister of Health and the Environment, the Hon. Molwyn Joseph, identifying legislation, physical activity in schools, and the establishment of recreational spaces and parks as areas of focus. The Wellness Committee members indicated that the draft IF is a good guide and will prove useful in the country’s further efforts to establish its Wellness Commission; they also made suggestions for improving the document. Areas for TC include fostering learning from other NNCDCs and the possible development and implementation of a project to address childhood obesity, which would build on current activities to reduce the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and promote physical activity. COMSEC-HCC will continue to provide technical cooperation towards the efficient and effective functioning of NNCDCs in the Caribbean as a key contribution to NCD prevention and control in the region.
Presentation – Summary of In-Country Consultation Antigua & Barbuda, 8-10 August 2016 – Dr. Beverley Barnett View/Download
Read more about the NCD Commissions Strengthening Project (NCDCSP) here.
