National NCD Commissions Talking to One Another

by HCC

National NCD Commissions Talking to One AnotherOn Friday Oct 6, 2017, the HCC hosted the 1st meeting of the Virtual Network of CARICOM Chairs of National NCD Commissions (NNCDC) or equivalents. The meeting was hosted by recent HCC partner – the UWI OC on their Zoom platform. This initiative is part of HCC’s broader commitment to support the region’s multisectoral response to NCDs and builds on past HCC work on NNCDCs supported by the NCD Alliance, the Commonwealth Secretariat and other partners including UWI, PAHO, CARPHA and CARICOM. The draft objectives of the network are:

  • To facilitate communication between National NCD Commissions in CARICOM.
  • To provide a platform for ongoing sharing of experiences and lessons learned.
  • To provide a platform for addressing challenges unique to NNCDCs including resource limitations (technical and financial).
  • To explore strategies to strengthen the capacity of NNCDCS to contribute meaningfully towards the achievement of national NCD targets in support of achieving the mandates of the Port of Spain Declaration, the 2025 global NCD goals and the SDGs.
  • To explore strategies to improve sustainability of NNCDCs.
  • To provide a platform for collective NNCDC action in the region.

The inaugural meeting chaired by Sir Trevor Hassell, Chair of the Barbados NNCDC was attended by Chairs from 6 Commissions: Dr. Leslie Walwyn (Antigua & Barbuda); Dr. Virloy Lewin and Dr. Cheryl Peek-Ball (Bermuda); Dr. Phillip Swann (The Bahamas); Dr. Damian Greaves and Dr. Sonia Nixon (Grenada); and Dr. Owen Gabriel (St. Lucia). The initiative was regarded as a valuable opportunity to learn and ultimately improve the functioning of NNCDCs in the Caribbean. Updates on the activities of the network will be shared in the roundup and our soon to be launched NNCDC online portal.