CSO Regional Action Team for Childhood Obesity Prevention

by HCC

For Childhood Obesity Prevention

In May 2018, the HCC launched the CSO Regional Action Team for Childhood Obesity Prevention including key members of civil society in eight countries:  Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, and St Kitts Nevis. Together, these organisations have shared materials and best practices in an effort to increase the public awareness around Childhood Obesity and its prevention and to garner thousands of signatures of support for the policies proposed in the HCC’s Call to Action at www.toomuchjunk.org.

Together, they created social media video messages; coordinated volunteer outreaches; mobilised their local media; visited schools and used every opportunity to gain support from from both the public and private sectors and non governmental organisations. The main regionally-coordinated activities included:

  1. Letters to our Leaders Video Messages for social media. Here children from different countries recorded short positive messages to their leaders suggesting ideas and policies to prevent childhood obesity. See the videos here.
  2. Regional Media Sensitisation: this was on online media sensitisation session held in June 2018 facilitated by the UWI Open Campus conference services. Each CSO invited members of the media to take part in the event. The session provided the media with indepth information on the risks associated with Childhood Obesity and global best practices for its prevention. Read more
  3. Media Outreach: The CSOs partnered with their local media to facilitate interviews and talk shows on COP to both increase public awareness on the issue and to promote support for the Call to Action. See some photos of the media outreach here.
  4. Volunteer Outreach: A cadre of volunteers were coordinated in various countries to garner manual signatures at key locations including businesses; the malls; hospitals and at various events. See more in the ‘Look Who’s Signed‘ photo gallery.
  5. Schools Outreach: CSOs coordinated visits to primary and/or secondary schools to ensure that the children were also being made aware of the dangers of unhealthy lifestyles and the importance of healthy diets and exercise. Students were also encouraged to sign the Call to Action. See some photos of the schools outreach initiative here.

The CSO Action Team comprised:

Media Outreach Photos