We are excited to announce the new 2024-2026 HCC Board as we welcome some new faces and some familiar faces. Debbie Chen, CEO of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica has rejoined the HCC board bringing with her decades of leadership roles in national, regional and global civil society organisations and a wealth of tobacco control experience. Debbie will also be serving as Vice President for this term. Dr. James Hospedales, founder of EarthMedic and EarthNurse Foundation for Planetary Health has also joined us brining his critical climate/NCD perspective and significant NCD experience both within and outside of the Caribbean.

We also have for the first time a Board Member representing young people, Charity Dublin. Charity is the Vice President of the Antigua and Barbuda Diabetes Association and a public health nutritionist. She is also a member of Healthy Caribbean Youth.

We would like to extend warm gratitude for the years of service to the HCC from long-serving board members: Dr. Victor Coombs, Laura Tucker-Longsworth and Dr. Christine Chin Chea who did not seek re election. 

We have also had a significant changing of the guard. Sir Trevor Hassell has handed the baton to Dr. Kenneth Connell (past Vice President) who is now HCC President. Sir Trevor has been the driving force behind the growth of the HCC since its inception in 2008 and we thank him for his guidance and wisdom during his time as HCC president, Sir Trevor will remain an HCC board member.

As the 2024 Paris Olympic Games fast approaches, the Big Soda companies will be looking to use the event and healthy sport to help promote an unhealthy product. Coca-Cola has sponsored the Olympics Games since 1928. It’s time it stopped. 

A petition urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to terminate the Coca-Cola Company’s sponsorship. Adding your voice and support to this petition will greatly increase its visibility and impact. 

It’s clear sugary beverages harm people and our planet. By accepting billions from Coca-Cola to sponsor the Olympic Games, the IOC implicitly endorses a world where health and environmental harms are “sports-washed” away, undermining commitments to use sport to create a better world. By signing this petition, you will join a large group of advocates urging the IOC to:

1. Terminate Coca-Cola’s Olympic sponsorship.
2. Commit to not accepting future sponsorship from corporations that harm public health and the environment.
3. Accept sponsorships from corporations genuinely aligned with Olympic values, such as those that promote health and sustainability.

The IOC must show the world that it is not just dedicated to talking about these values, but to truly committed to making the world a better place through sport. Your support is vital.

Image: PAHO

PAHO: World Breastfeeding Week is held in the first week of August every year. The theme for 2024 is Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all. The campaign will celebrate breastfeeding mothers in all their diversity, throughout their breastfeeding journeys, while showcasing the ways families, societies, communities and health workers can have the back of every breastfeeding mother.

Photo: UNICEF

UNICEF: In the last 12 years, the number of infants under six months of age globally who are exclusively breastfed has increased by more than 10 per cent. This means 48 per cent of infants worldwide now benefit from this healthy start in life. It translates to hundreds of thousands of babies whose lives have been saved by breastfeeding. 

“While this significant leap brings us closer to the World Health Organization target of increasing exclusive breastfeeding to at least 50 per cent by 2025, there are persistent challenges that must be addressed.

More on World Breast Feeding Week:

WHO: World Breastfeeding Week: 1-7 August

United Nations: More Access to Breastfeeding Support Could Save 820,000 Young Lives Annually, UN Agencies Say

Image: BCNF website

BCNF: This year The Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Foundation celebrates nine years since we were founded. During this time we have supported hundreds of mothers and their families. From educational sessions for families to developing breastfeeding workplace policy guidance, our programmes run with your continual support!

Image: Dominica News Online website

Dominica News Online: The high number of Non-Communicable Disease cases on the island has prompted the government to raise excise taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages by $1.00 per litre, and on alcohol and tobacco by $0.75 per litre and per kilogram, respectively. During the 2024-2025 National Budget address to Parliament on Friday, July 26, Minister for Finance and former Minister of Health, Dr. Irvin McIntyre, expressed concern over the negative impact of NCDs, emphasizing their ripple effect on the country and its economy.

Photo: WIC News

WIC News: St. Kitts and Nevis: Minister of Sports, Samal Duggins was honoured to be part of the highly significant 11th Commonwealth Sports Ministers Meeting in Paris. He spoke on a critical issue during the meeting which was tackling Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through sport and physical activity. The Minister emphasised during the address that how sports can be a game changer in the fight against NCDs such as diabetes, obesity as well as heart disease.

Rendering of Hospital

St. Vincent Times: New Hospital Project to Transform Healthcare Services in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has announced the commencement of a long-awaited hospital project that promises to significantly enhance healthcare services in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Simone Keizer-Beache, emphasised the importance of the Acute Referral Hospital, stating, “We started working on the location of the hospital back in 2014 under the Availability Reduction Project. Over the past 11 years, our needs and infrastructure have evolved, and this new facility is designed to address those changing needs.”

NCD Alliance: The annual Global Week for Action on NCDs seeks to ensure NCD prevention and management get the attention and action they deserve, everywhere, for everyone.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as cancers, diabetes, mental health conditions and many others, are the #1 cause of death and disability worldwide. They account for 74% of all deaths and more than three out of four years lived with a disability. If no clear action is taken to reverse this trend, deaths from NCDs could rise to 52 million — or the population of South Korea — per year by 2030.

Photo: PAHO, CRB

PAHO: To further enhance the climate resilience of health systems in the Caribbean, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), is fostering access to resources needed to respond to climatic threats in seven Caribbean countries. They are Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago.

PAHO: The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the University of Toronto, cordially invite you to attend the webinar "World Suicide Prevention Day 2024: Change the narrative", that will take place on Tuesday 10 September, at 12:00 pm (EDT or Washington D.C. time). In this session will discuss the impact and relevance of suicide prevention through media messaging, focusing on the he importance of responsible media reporting related to suicide to promote awareness and collaboration across the Region of the Americas.

CARPHA: The deadline for receipt of papers is December 13, 2024. 

Papers are selected based on scientific merit and relevance to the health priorities areas of the Caribbean. Submitting Authors may request oral or poster presentation but the final assignment of accepted papers will be made by the scientific review committee.

The HCC is seeking to expand our database of consultants with expertise in the area of NCD prevention and control. The HCC relies on consultants to support the implementation of our projects in the short, medium and long-term. To this end we are inviting individual consultants and consulting firms to submit CVs to the HCC. Submitted CVs will be reviewed to ensure they meet the selection criteria and if successful they will be placed in our consultant database. Please note that consultants do not need to be based in the Caribbean but must meet the selection criteria outlined. The database will be the first resource we turn to when consultancy opportunities arise.