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SAVE THE DATE

10th Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Day (CARD) Webinar

Alcohol Now: The Health Realities We Can’t Ignore

29 January 10am to 12pm

2025 has been another tremendous year of advocacy, dedication and commitment to the NCD prevention and control cause. We salute all of HCCs Members and partners!

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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.

Phot: P.Virot/WHO

NCD Alliance: The World Health Organization held a Member State briefing on the fourth UN High-Level Meeting of NCDs and Mental Health (HLM4) and its resulting Political Declaration on Friday 28 November in Geneva. The briefing reflected on the outcomes and lessons learned of HLM4, next steps for the adoption of the Political Declaration, and implementation and monitoring of its commitments and targets. 

The NCD Alliance, represented by Policy and Advocacy Director Alison Cox, was invited to share its perspective at the briefing. She highlighted the strong support shown by governments for the Political Declaration and applauded the important gains achieved through months of consultation and collaboration, namely the inclusion of important targets, the integration of mental health, and strong language on access to affordable medicines, technologies, and financial protection.

WHO Civil Society Working Group on NCDs Statement On HLM4

Photo: CSwg

WHO: Statement by the WHO Civil Society Working Group on NCDs Statement on the UN High Level Meeting on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases and the promotion of mental health “Equity and integration: transforming lives and livelihoods through leadership and action on noncommunicable diseases and the promotion of mental health and well-being”.

Photo: PAHO/WHO Barbados Brandford Taitt Polyclinic

WHO: Shawn Addison, age 46, who lives in Barbados, noticed his mental health problems initially in his teenage years. He struggled with staying focused, withdrew after socialising, and did not feel like he was in full control of how his brain worked. “In my early 30s, things started to really get to a point where I wasn't managing the daily functions of my life. A friend of mine, who is a doctor, recommended that I go to my closest polyclinic, speak to the sister in charge there, and she recommend me to the mental health programme. From there, I saw the doctor and did an assessment,” said Shawn.

Antigua & Barbuda Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph 

Photo: Antigua News website

Antigua News: The Ministry of Health has launched a national workshop bringing together education, health, and regional stakeholders to strengthen nutrition standards in schools and early childhood institutions across Antigua and Barbuda.

Opening the session, Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph warned that the country must act urgently as childhood overweight and obesity continue to rise across the Caribbean, now affecting one in three children.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the 78th WHO Regional Committee for South East Asia 

Photo: NCD Alliance

NCD Alliance: In a year shaped by the Fourth UN High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (HLM4), the 2025 WHO Regional Committee Meetings (RCMs), held from August to October, offered a crucial opportunity to carry global commitments into regional decision-making spaces. With most RCMs taking place in the weeks following the HLM4, attention quickly turned to what implementation would look like on the ground. 

Supported by the NCD Alliance (NCDA), regional NCD alliances engaged governments, WHO regional offices, and partners to help sustain momentum, influence priority-setting and reinforce the central role of NCDs in achieving Health for All during this politically critical moment.

Experts Warn Global Rise in Ultra-Processed Foods Poses Major Public Health Threat; Call for Worldwide Policy Reform

The Lancet: This 3-paper Series reviews the evidence about the increase in ultra-processed foods in diets globally and highlights the association with many non-communicable diseases. This rise in ultra-processed foods is driven by powerful global corporations who employ sophisticated political tactics to protect and maximise profits. Education and relying on behaviour change by individuals is insufficient. Deteriorating diets are an urgent public health threat that requires coordinated policies and advocacy to regulate and reduce ultra-processed foods and improve access to fresh and minimally processed foods. The Series provides a different vision for the food system with emphasis on local food producers, preserving cultural foods transitions and economic benefits for communities.

HEARTS Quality: A Policy Framework To Strengthen Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk Management in Primary Healthcare—Insights From HEARTS in the Americas

Science Direct: HEARTS in the Americas is the largest-scale implementation of the WHO's global initiative, with 33 countries participating, 28 having adopted standardized clinical pathways, and about 10,000 primary healthcare facilities engaged. Despite progress, fragmented care, limited availability of validated blood pressure devices, restricted access to essential medicines, and weak quality assurance systems continue to hinder hypertension control and cardiovascular risk management. In response, PAHO and participating countries co-developed the HEARTS Quality Framework.

WHO Issues Global Guideline on the Use of GLP-1 Medicines in Treating Obesity

WHO: To address the growing global health challenge of obesity, which affects more than 1 billion people, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first guideline on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies for treating obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease. 

Obesity affects people in every country and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024. Without decisive action, the number of people with obesity is projected to double by 2030.

Perceptions of Non-Sugar Sweeteners and Front-of-Package Labels Among Parents of Preschool and School-Aged Children in Brazil

PubMed: The objective of this study was to describe Brazilian parents' perceptions of non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) in beverages consumed by children and their views for NSS front-of-package labels (FOPL). 

A qualitative-driven mixed-methods embedded design was used. Seven focus groups with parents of children explored perceptions of NSS. Qualitative data were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants also completed a closed-ended survey assessing familiarity with NSS-containing beverages, ability to identify NSS on ingredient labels and perceptions of NSS FOPL. Survey responses were summarised using descriptive statistics.

4th Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Day (CARD) 2019

Women and Alcohol 

Alcohol affects men and women differently, giving rise to unique gender-based vulnerabilities. For CARD 2019, the theme was Women and Alcohol. IF YOU DRINK ALCOHOL – DRINK LESS. IF YOU DON’T DRINK – DON’T START.