Mobilising for 2025 – A Caribbean Civil Society NCD Forum

Mobilising for 2025 – A Caribbean Civil Society NCD Forum

July 6-7, 2023
Courtyard Marriott Hotel | Bridgetown, Barbados

On July 6-7, 2023, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) with the support of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) hosted a regional meeting: Mobilising for 2025 – A Caribbean Civil Society NCD Forum which brought together HCC member civil society organisations (CSOs) and key stakeholders to discuss non-communicable disease (NCD) (including mental, neurological and substance use disorders – MNSDs)[1] prevention and control priorities. Participants reflected on the current situation, progress and challenges, and the upcoming 4th UN High Level Meeting on NCDs – to map a path forward to place the region back on track to meet SDG NCD Target 3.4: Noncommunicable diseases and mental health: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.

The meeting was attended by over sixty (60) regional stakeholders from twelve Caribbean countries and representing a diverse array of partners including those from civil society, government and academia.

The HCC was honored to have Dr. The Honourable Sonia Browne, Minister of State in the Barbados Ministry of Health and Wellness, provide opening remarks; followed by Dr. Gloria Giraldo, the recently appointed NCDs and Mental Health subregional Advisor for the Caribbean.

One of the key outcomes of the meeting was identification of priorities for HCC action across the major NCDs and risk factors for inclusion in HCC’s 2023 Strategic Plan and to inform priorities leading up to the 2025 UN High Level Meeting on NCDs.  The full details will be presented in the final meeting report which will be shared on this page once complete.

This meeting was immediately preceded by a first meeting: Accelerating the removal of ultra-processed products from Caribbean schools.  The aim of the meeting was to support harmonised regional acceleration of robust evidence-informed policies which regulate the availability and marketing of ultra-processed products in school settings, by bringing together diverse stakeholders.

Goal

To bring together HCC member civil society organisations and key stakeholders to discuss Caribbean NCD (including MNSDs) prevention and control priorities and actions.

Objectives

1. To strengthen relationships within HCC CSO membership – including among CSOs working in specific disease areas to revitalise knowledge and resource-sharing networks – and with other key stakeholders in the wider regional NCD community, taking into consideration meaningful engagement of people living with NCDs and young people.
2. To share experiences, recent developments and priorities across the NCDs and their risk factors, taking into consideration the principles of human rights and equity.
3. To explore key strategies to drive national and regional momentum in the NCD response, focusing on strengthening prevention, addressing the commercial and economic determinants of health and supporting whole-of-government and whole-of-society responses.
4. To map out HCC’s priority actions for the next strategic period, considering the 2023 SIDS NCDs Ministerial Conference Bridgetown Declaration and key milestones such as the 2025 UN High Level Meeting and the 2030 SDGs.

Expected Outcomes

1. Strengthened relationships within HCC CSO membership (including among disease-specific organisations, PLWNCDs and young people) and with other key stakeholders.
2. Experiences, recent developments and priorities shared across the NCDs and their risk factors, taking into consideration the perspectives of PLWNCDs, young people and the principles of human rights and equity.
3. Key strategies explored to drive national and regional momentum in the NCD response with a focus on strengthening prevention, addressing the commercial and economic determinants of health and supporting whole-of-government and whole-of-society responses.
4. HCC’s priority actions mapped out for the next strategic period.

Mobilising for 2025 – A Caribbean Civil Society NCD Forum, represents a reconvening of face-to-face meetings of HCC member organisations and partners. The aim of the Forum is to bring together HCC member civil society organisations (CSOs) and key stakeholders to discuss non-communicable (NCD) (including mental, neurological and substance use disorders – MNSDs)[1] prevention and control priorities in the Caribbean. Participants will reflect on the current situation, progress and challenges, and map a path forward to place the region back on track to meet SDG NCD Target 3.4: Noncommunicable diseases and mental health: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well- being.

Much work is needed as the most recent 2022 NCD Progress Monitor showed the Caribbean was significantly off track across most areas including risk factor interventions (WHO Best Buys and Recommended Interventions) and treatment indicators (management guidelines and drug therapies). As a result, the NCD-related health and socioeconomic toll on our fragile economies continue to rise as we face the interconnected challenges of climate change and food insecurity, exacerbated in our Small Island Developing States (SIDS) settings. From June 14-16, 2023 high-level officials from across the SIDS convened in Barbados for the SIDS Ministerial Conference on NCDs and Mental Health where they united to endorse the bold action-oriented 2023 Bridgetown Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health. The Declaration recognises the key health and development threats of NCDs, commercial determinants and climate change, and presents concrete actions to tackle these threats as a SIDS community through a SIDS NCDs Roadmap.

The diverse array of civil society actors impacted by NCDs – including those representing all chronic diseases, key groups such as people living with NCDs (PWLNCDs), young people, related lived experiences, climate change, food systems, and academia – have played, and continue to play, a critical role in driving and supporting rights-based, equitable, evidence-informed NCD responses across the region.

This Forum of civil society and key partners is situated at an important juncture, on the heels of the SIDS Ministerial Conference on NCDs and Mental Health, overlapping with the 45^th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, and preceding the 2023 UN High Level Meting on Universal Health Coverage.  As we look towards 2025 – the next major NCD milestone when the global NCD community will reconvene for the 4th UN High Level Meeting on NCDs – the next major NCD milestone when the global NCD community will reconvene for the 4th UN High Level Meeting on NCDs – the HCC is seeking to mobilise Caribbean civil society around a transformative new NCD agenda² which is people-centred, grounded in human rights and equity, and which prioritises evidence-informed prevention policies (guided by the updated Appendix 3 of the WHO Best Buys and Recommended Interventions) while improving the quality of treatment and care through strengthened health systems.

The HCC is also currently developing its 2023 Strategic Plan. This meeting provides an opportunity for HCC members and key stakeholders to provide input into the strategic direction of the organisation.

The Forum is preceded by HCCs meeting on “Accelerating the Removal of Ultra-processed products in Caribbean Schools”, scheduled to be held on July 4-5, 2023 in Barbados. The goal of the meeting is to support harmonised regional acceleration of robust evidence-informed policies which regulate the availability and marketing of unhealthy ultra-processed products in school settings, by bringing together diverse stakeholders including those from government, civil society and academia. Outcomes of the preceding meeting will feed into the Caribbean Civil Society NCD Forum.

This meeting is supported through funding from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

The work of the HCC would not be possible without the ongoing support from Sagicor Life Inc. and COMTRUST (CIBC First Caribbean).

[1] NCDs throughout this document refers to NCDs including MNSDs (mental, neurological and substance abuse disorders)

[2] HCC Transformative New NCD Agenda Available at https://www.healthycaribbean.org/category/transformative-new-agenda-for-ncds/.