St Kitts and Nevis based Lake Health and Wellbeing is a member of the Childhood Obesity Prevention CSO Action Team.
Organisation: Lake Health and Wellbeing
Name: Abi Begho
Role: Director and Public Health Project Manager
What do you/your organisation do?
We aim to improve the health and wellbeing of our local, regional and online community through research, public health interventions, events, campaigns and by offering public health services to small organisations.
How do you/does your organisation push the childhood obesity agenda forward?
Through our Healthy Kids SKN and My Healthy Heroes projects we’re exploring creative ways to educate children about the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle and the simple ways they can get active and introduce healthier foods and snacks into their diet.
We’ve also participated in government consultations, focus groups and committees on the introduction of an SSB tax and front-of-pack nutrition labels.
What do you think is needed to improve the prevalence of childhood obesity in the Caribbean region?
To tackle childhood obesity in the Caribbean requires a whole-of-society approach with all key stakeholders playing an active role in creating a healthy environment. From children themselves to parents, schools, the government, the food industry, the health sector and the media, we all have a part to play.
How does being a part of a Coalition help advance your own organization’s agenda?
Being part of the HCC’s Action team gives us access to up-to-date and accurate evidence and data about childhood obesity in the Caribbean and globally, this is instrumental in informing our approach to tackling childhood obesity locally.
Additionally, the Action Team Network provides us with much-needed support and advice and enables us to connect with organisations from across the Caribbean to share best practices, ensure a consistent message across the region and have a greater impact by coming together to advocate for a greater focus on the prevention of childhood obesity