HCC President, Senator Dr. Kenneth Connell, attended the 53rd Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) and the 63rd PAHO Directing Council in Washington, DC, in late September and early October 2026.
During COHSOD, Dr. Connell reaffirmed HCC’s support for high-level regional recognition of the upcoming 20th anniversary of the 2007 Port of Spain Declaration on NCDs. He emphasised the importance of leveraging this milestone to reflect on regional progress, renew political commitment and accelerate priority action on NCDs to get the Caribbean back on track towards achieving the Port of Spain Declaration targets, regional and global NCD targets, and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.4 on NCDs by 2030.
At the PAHO Directing Council, HCC delivered two statements on: Provisional Agenda 8.5 – Plan of Action for the Elimination of Industrially Produced Trans-Fatty Acids 2020– 2025: Final Report (Resolution CD57.R12 [2019]) and Provisional Agenda 8.8 E – Strategy and Plan of Action on Health Promotion within the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals 2019–2030: Midterm Review (Resolution CD57.R10 [2019]). They can be found here.
Photos from both events are shared below.
Dr. Beatriz Champagne, Executive Director of CLAS and HCC President, Senator Dr. Kenneth Connell
Dr. The Honourable Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health and Wellness, Jamaica and HCC President, Senator Dr. Kenneth Connell
Dr. Jarbas Barbosa Director of PAHO and HCC President, Senator Dr. Kenneth Connell
For more on the Directing Council check out the links below:
More photos from PAHO’s 63rd Directing Council