International Youth Day 2026: Different Contexts, Common Aspirations

This International Youth Day, under the theme “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations,” the Healthy Caribbean Coalition celebrates the diverse voices, experiences and leadership of young people across the Caribbean.

In this special issue of the HCC News Roundup, we spotlight two initiatives demonstrating youth leadership and meaningful engagement in action: the launch of the Guidance Note for the Meaningful Engagement of Youth, Including Young People Living with Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs), in Health Decision-Making, and Hope for the Future 3.0, a youth-led campaign advocating for healthier school food environments.  

Together, all these initiatives reinforce a simple message: young people must not only be heard—they must have meaningful opportunities to shape the decisions that affect their health and futures. 

The Healthy Caribbean Youth is also thrilled to announce the launch of its new Instagram page — @healthycaribbeanyouth. Be sure to like and follow to stay connected with youth-led initiatives, opportunities and stories from across the Caribbean.

On 21 July 2026, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) and Healthy Caribbean Youth (HCY) and the CARICOM Youth Desk hosted Speak. Shape. Lead: Youth in Caribbean Health Decision-Making, bringing together youth leaders, policymakers, civil society organisations, and regional partners from across the Caribbean to strengthen dialogue on meaningful youth engagement in health governance. View the Caribbean Youth Voices page and webinar recording here.

A key highlight of the event was the official launch of the Guidance Note for the Meaningful Engagement of Youth, Including Young People Living with Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs), in Health Decision-Making. Developed through extensive consultations with young people, young people living with NCDs, allies, and regional stakeholders, the Guidance Note provides practical recommendations for governments, civil society organisations, and development partners to strengthen meaningful, inclusive, and sustained youth participation in health decision-making.

The event marked an important milestone in advancing meaningful youth engagement across CARICOM and reaffirmed the collective commitment of regional institutions, governments, civil society, and young people to ensuring that youth voices are heard, valued, and reflected in health decision-making.

 We invite you to endorse the Guidance Note here.

Read or download the press release

The Caribbean Youth Voices: Art for Action Competition invites young people aged 15–30 from across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to use creativity, storytelling, and artistic expression to share their experiences, perspectives, and ideas for a healthier and more inclusive Caribbean. Launched ahead of the Guidance on Meaningful Engagement of Youth, Including Young People Living with Non-Communicable Diseases in Health Decision-Making in CARICOM, this competition seeks to amplify youth voices and contribute to a growing regional conversation on youth participation, leadership, and health decision-making. Whether through visual art, poetry, music, spoken word, photography, film, or other creative forms, we want to hear your voice.

Hope for the Future is a youth-led, civil society-supported campaign by the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), Healthy Caribbean Youth (HCY), and HCC member organisations, calling for healthier school environments across the region. 

First launched in 2024, Hope for the Future is now in its third iteration. Members led “Hope for the Future 3.0” from May 23rd to June 6, 2026—a synchronized regional advocacy action calling for the ban on marketing of ultra-processed foods in and around schools. 

This year’s campaign aligned with the launch of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition and partners’ digital campaign Make It Make Sense, as well as Caribbean Nutrition Month. Building on a previous campaign, Make It Make Sense uses relatable examples to encourage people to question the presence and promotion of unhealthy food and drink brands in school environments, while helping turn that reflection into support for healthier school spaces. 

Activities took place across Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago from May 23rd to June 6th with an additional event in The Bahamas later this year.

Join the Healthy Caribbean Coalition The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) is a Caribbean alliance of civil society organisations whose mission is to harness the power of civil society - in collaboration with key national, regional and global partners - to galvanise bold action for NCD prevention and care in the Caribbean, leaving no one behind. 

We currently have two long term consultancy roles available, Project Officer and Administrator, both are long term 10 month contracts with the possiblity of extension.

If you are passionate about public health and strengthening civil society, and enjoy working in dynamic regional environments, we would love to hear from you. 

Deadline for submission of applications is 24 August 2026.

Unhealthy Food and Drink Brands in Our Schools?

Read the Press Release

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Sagicor: Hosted by Dr. Kenneth Connell, President of the HCC and Deputy Dean of Recruitment and Outreach at the UWI Faculty of Medicine, The Wellness Effect is a video podcast series designed to educate our communities about the dangers of NCDs. It will show the impact on not just their physical but their financial wellbeing. The series is a partnership between Sagicor, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition and the UWI Faculty of Medicine.

Click/tap to play

TTT: The Diabetes Association of Trinidad and Tobago is encouraging young people to make healthier lifestyle choices through its “Kick Big Soda Out” campaign and an innovative Human Foosball Tournament for secondary schools. Association President, Dr. Andrew Dhanoo, joins Virmala to discuss the impact of sugary drinks on obesity and Type 2 diabetes, the importance of engaging students through sport, and the simple lifestyle changes families can adopt to reduce their risk.

Barbados Today:  On Saturday, July 11, young people, medical students, and members of the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition, added their voices to a global activation against Big Soda’s ongoing sponsorship of the world’s most-watched sporting event. With approximately 42% of Barbadian children overweight or obese, youth advocates say the stakes of sugary drink marketing are not abstract — they are visible in clinics, classrooms, and communities across the island.

Kick Big Soda Out’s new campaign is geared up to launch on June 4 ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Share the campaign across your social channels using this toolkit. This toolkit includes legal guidelines, social media posts, videos, images, a fact sheet and backgrounder.

The Reproductive Education and Adolescent Community Health (REACH) Project is pleased to launch a webinar series that brings together experts to discuss topics that matter most to young people.

If you are a teen, parent, healthcare professional, educator, or just someone interested in supporting young people's health and well-being, these sessions are for you!

Breaking the Stigma Around Mental Health
August 11 @6:30pm AST

Presenter: Maxine Blake-Hylton, Program Manager, C-TECH, Jamaica. Licensed Psychologist-Play Therapist, Grief, Loss and Trauma Specialist.

Adolescents and Healthy Lifestyles - Nutrition and Mental Health

August 18 @6:30pm AST

Presenters: Danielle Walwyn, Policy and Operations Manager, Healthy Caribbean Coalition, and Lead, Healthy Caribbean Youth, and Alaina Gomes, Counselling Psychologist.

Adolescents and Healthy Lifestyles – Healthy Eating

August 20 @6:30pm AST

Presenter: Shirlan Edward.

EarthMedic and EarthNurse are not-for-profits with global scope, with special focus on climate-vulnerable regions, anchored in the Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS), and based in Trinidad and Tobago and England, UK.

• 5th Multistakeholder Gathering: Strategies for a sustainable NCD and mental health response
• Blog: Every young person has a right to breathe. Governments must make it real
• Blog: Geography is not destiny. Case studies from the response to type 1 diabetes
• What action can civil society, including our members, take to act on NCDs
• Strong health systems start with a strong health workforce

Hope for the Future -  A collective call by youth for improved school food environments across the Caribbean

In the latter half of 2024, youth advocates across the Caribbean participated in Hope for the Future – a collective call by youth for improved school food environments across the Caribbean. 

This regional-youth led activity emerged from the “Caribbean Youth Voices in Health Advocacy Spaces – Healthy Food Policy Action”, the first of its kind youth meeting on Healthy Food Policies held in February 2024, aims to highlight youth support for school nutrition policies that regulate the sale and marketing of ultra processed products in and around schools. This policy should be supported by the implementation of Octagonal front of package warning labelling.