Childhood Obesity: Time for a New Narrative, the first webinar in the HCC Childhood Obesity Prevention Webinar Series, a series that consists of webinars intended to build the capacity of civil society organisations (CSO’s) and other key stakeholders advocating for and implementing childhood obesity prevention policies in the region.
On April 25th, 2019 the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, with the support of the UWI Open Campus and Sagicor, kicked off its childhood obesity webinar series in support of the of the Civil Society Action Plan 2017-2021: Preventing Childhood Obesity in the Caribbean. This webinar laid the groundwork for a new regional childhood obesity prevention storyline which recognizes that obesity:
- Must be tackled using a whole-of-society approach since its drivers are multifaceted;
- Is driven by exposure to obesogenic environments and is not the fault of individuals;
- Must be addressed though policies that consider the physical and social drivers of obesity, including inequalities, amongst children; and
- Is a chronic illness requiring prevention and management.
74 webinar attendees heard from a variety of global, regional and local experts from academia and civil society in the health sector. Speakers delivered presentations exploring the burdens, drivers and the global and regional responses to childhood obesity in the Caribbean before highlighting the key role youth engagement plays in childhood obesity prevention efforts. Attendees engaged in lively discussion, in the webinar chat room, over the course of the presentations and submitted questions which informed the question and answer session which followed.
Presentation Slides:
- What’s Driving Childhood Obesity in The Caribbean? – Professor T. Alafia Samuels, George Alleyne CDRC
- Global and Regional WHO/PAHO Response to Childhood Obesity – Dr. Audrey Morris, PAHO Regional Advisor on Nutrition
- Building Civil Society Advocacy Capacity For Childhood Obesity Prevention In The Caribbean – Maisha Hutton, Executive Director, HCC
- Jamaica’s Response- Are You Drinking Yourself Sick? Campaign – Barbara McGaw, Heart Foundation of Jamaica
- Barbados’ Response: The ‘Stop yuh too sweet’ Campaign – Jan Phillips, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados
- Belize’s Response: Healthy Schools Belize- NCD COPA – Heather Reneau, Belize Cancer Society
- Youth and Childhood Obesity Prevention – Pierre Cooke Jnr., HCC Youth Advocate
Other webinars in this series include:
- Pushing and Pulling: The Caribbean Experience Moving Towards Front-Of-Package Nutrition Labels
- Exploring The Pursuit of Effective Public Health Policies Through A Trade Lens
Individual webinar details will be released as the series progresses.
All webinars are facilitated by UWI Open Campus using Blackboard Collaborate.
If you have any questions or for more information, contact jenna.thompson@healthycaribbean.org.