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On Wednesday June 5, 2024, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) hosted a pivotal discussion-based event, “Ignite Change: Tobacco-Control Efforts in the Caribbean”, focusing on the impact of new and emerging tobacco products on children and youth and tobacco control advocacy efforts. This event gathered key stakeholders across various sectors and was held in recognition of World No Tobacco Day 2024, which highlighted the need to protect young people from tobacco industry interference. 

Participants explored the increasing use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS) among Caribbean youth, the aggressive marketing tactics employed by the tobacco industry, and ways to engage youth as advocates in tobacco control efforts.

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The Commonweath Foundation: The Foundation’s capacity strengthening grants stream supports smaller Commonwealth civil society organisations in smaller Member States, building their expertise and enhancing their capacity to influence policy. The Foundation is working with Lake and Health Wellbeing to strengthen their civil society partners so they can better participate in NCD policy advocacy.

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PAHO: Experts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) participated in the 4th Small Island Developing States (SIDS) International Conference, to ensure that health remains front and center of discussions around catalyzing the sustainable development of small island nations.

During the dialogue, "By SIDS, for SIDS: Next Decade of Action on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health," co-organized by PAHO, WHO, the government of Antigua and Barbuda, and the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, Sir Molywn Joseph, Minister of Health and the Environment of Antigua and Barbuda stated that addressing NCDs and mental health conditions must be a collective undertaking, not a job for one Ministry or one actor. “It simply cannot be done alone,” he said.

HCC Vice President, Dr. Kenneth Connell, attended the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Antigua where he moderated a high level side event ‘By the SIDS, for the SIDS’: Next decade of action on NCDs and mental health featuring The Honourable Sir Molwyn Joseph, Minister of Health of Antigua and Barbuda, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, Commonwealth Secretary General, Dr Anselm Hennis, Director, Department for NCDs and mental health, PAHO, Ms Eunetta Bird, Lived experience representative (President Breast Friends Antigua, HCC Member CSO) and Dr Georgiana Gordon-Strachan, Director, Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, Caribbean Institute for Health Research. The meeting was also attended by Dr James Hospedales founder of EarthMedic-EarthNurse, HCC Climate and Health Advisor and Abi Begho, Founder of Lake Health and Wellbeing. See photos from the event below.

SAVE THE DATE

HCC 9th Annual General Assembly

Tuesday 16th July 2024 

10am - 12pm AST

We also invite voting members to please submit the names of any individual your organisation would wish to be considered by the Nominating Committee for HCC Directorship

HCC Board Members Laura Tucker Longsworth (also NCD Alliance Board Member; Past President Belize Cancer Society; former Speaker of the House Belize) and Dr. Karen Sealey (Founder TT NCD Alliance) attended the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva and participated in a number of events as panelists. See photos below.

The World Heart Federation praised the contribution of Dr. Sealey.

"On behalf of the World Heart Federation, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your invaluable contribution to our WHA77 side event on How do we better prepare health systems to address the rising burden of cardiometabolic disease and obesity?. It was truly inspiring to hear about your lived experience and thank you for reminding us of the importance of recognizing obesity as a disease in itself; of focusing on primary care, improving training of practitioners, access to care and information about nutrition to better manage this disease. It was a true pleasure listening to and learning from you!"

The World Health Organization (WHO) and its global partners recognize May 31 annually as World No Tobacco Day. The significance of this special day is to encourage people who smoke to quit and those who don’t to never start. World No Tobacco Day is often celebrated by highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for the effective monitoring of the sale, distribution, consumption and promotion of tobacco products. Every year tobacco kills more than 8 million people, 7 million of which are due to tobacco use while approximately 1.2 million are due to non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.

This year’s theme for World No Tobacco Day, “Protecting children from tobacco industry interference”, cuts to the core of a disturbing truth – The tobacco industry needs replacement users and youth are a primary target. Many of us use social media and are constantly bombarded with advertisements. Disturbingly, among these ads, the tobacco industry has found a way to infiltrate the screens of youth with flashy, colourful promotions for their products. These ads are meticulously designed to appeal to youthful sensibilities, making smoking and vaping seem attractive and harmless.

Image: WHO

WHO: New WHO report highlights how big industry fuels chronic diseases, obstructs health policy and targets vulnerable people.

  pioneering report from the WHO Regional Office for Europe spells out clearly how specific powerful industries are driving ill-health and premature mortality across Europe and central Asia, including through interfering in and influencing prevention and control efforts for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers and diabetes, and their risk factors including tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diets and obesity. The report calls on governments to implement mechanisms to identify conflicts of interest and protect public policies from industry interference.

SAVE THE DATE

HCC 9th Annual General Assembly

Tuesday 16th July 2024 

10am - 12pm AST

Rotary District 7030: A discussion based webinar divided into two segment, focussing on childhood obesity and its mental health implications but also the multi-faceted response required. The objective of the webinar is to explore the impact of childhood overweight and obesity on a child's mental health and highlight the community and policy based solutions to address one of the Caribbean major health issues. 

Watch the recording in English here or in French here

PAHO:  Webinar Monday, June 3, 2024 - Experiences and Innovative Strategies to Protect Children and Youth from Tobacco Marketing, organized jointly by the Pan American Health Organization, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and Corporate Accountability. Featuring Danielle Walwyn, HCC Advocacy Officer this webinar commemorated World No Tobacco Day 2024 for which the focus was poviding a platform to youth who demand that the tobacco industry stop targeting this group with products harmful to their health.

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Photo: Pixabay

Global Mental Health Action Network: At this year’s Advocacy Forum, we will bring together experts and advocates from 150+ countries, dedicated to improving mental health for all. Led by the Global Mental Health Action Network’s Working Groups, we will cover the detrimental impact of worsening climate conditions, strategies for tackling mental health stigma and discrimination, effective mental health storytelling and much, much more!

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.