Every two years, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) brings together civil society advocates, medical professionals, researchers, policy makers, people living with dementia and carers from all over the world for an international conference on dementia. This year, the 37th Global Conference of ADI took place in Lyon, France from 13-17 April. Among the 1,500+ delegates, the Caribbean was well represented by the Bahamas Alzheimer’s Association, Barbados Alzheimer’s Association, Aruba’s CasMarie Fundacion Centro di Demencia, Dementia Bermuda, Virgin Islands Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s and Dementia Association of The Cayman Islands (ADACI), Cuban Section of Alzheimer’s (SCUAL), Asociación Dominicana Alzheimer y Similares (Dominican Republic), St. Vincent and the Grenadines Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Association (SVGADDA) and Alzheimer’s Association of Trinidad and Tobago.

Click/tap to play

Lake Health and Wellbeing: This animation was developed by Lake Health and Wellbeing and the Taiwan ICDF in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the National Counselling Centre as part of the Ministry of Health and Taiwan ICDF’s Mental Health Service System Enhancement Project. The featured animation explores how we can improve the mental health of young people by starting where it matters most: the home. 

It highlights the challenges many young people face today that can impact their mental health and offers practical ideas on how parents and guardians can create supportive, understanding, and safe environments for them. The animation also acknowledges that parenting can be challenging. Parents aren’t expected to be perfect, but small actions can make a big difference. It also reminds parents and guardians to take time to care for their own mental health. A discussion guide has also been created to support meaningful discussions about this topic.

HCC President with Hon. Lisa Cummins, Minister of Health and Wellness, Barbados

HCC President at the World Heart Summit

Dr Kamaria De Castro, Chief Medical Officer of Antigua and Barbuda  delivering the CARICOM statement

Click/tap to play

Prior to their presentation at the Seventy-Ninth World Health Assembly, CARICOM Member States endorsed coordinated regional position statements on priority health matters. These statements were subsequently presented during WHA79 as part of the Caribbean Community’s collective advocacy efforts, while Member States also delivered national statements reflecting their individual contexts and priorities. The coordinated regional statements focused on key areas including Human Resources for Health (HRH), Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), and Health Emergencies and Pandemic Preparedness, reflecting shared regional priorities and the unique realities of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The Part-Time Finance Assistant will support the day-to-day financial administration of the HCC and its projects, including accurate financial record keeping, financial tracking and budget monitoring, timely reconciliations, donor financial reporting, and strong documentation and compliance practices. The role is ideal for a detail-oriented and highly organised individual who is comfortable working within a small, dynamic regional civil society organisation environment and supporting multiple projects.

The deadline for submission of applications is Monday 15 June 2026.

HCC Communication Officer, Sheena Warner Edwards (right) with DHAB President and conference host Mr Tyrone Lowe (centre) with Caribbean Regional Diabetes Organisations at the Diabetes and Hypertension Association of Barbados (DHAB) Republic Bank Blue Wellness Conference, Barbados, May 18-19, 2026

Left to right: Sir Trevor Hassell, Maisha Hutton, Leah-Mari Richards and Gloria Giraldo

HCC Founding President, Sir Trevor Hassell, and Executive Director, Maisha Hutton, paid a courtesy visit to recently appointed Chief, PAHO/WHO Subregional Program Coordination for the Caribbean, Leah-Mari Richards. They were accompanied by Dr. Gloria Giraldo, Noncommunicable diseases and mental health advisor for the Subregional Program Coordination for the Caribbean.

Jamaica Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton
Photo: CNW website

CNW: Jamaica is set to receive technical support from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as the Government moves to significantly expand cancer care services across the island over the next two years. 

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton made the announcement following a technical meeting with the Vienna-based agency on the margins of the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.

Barbados Today:  President of Barbados, Jeffrey Bostic has issued an impassioned call for Barbadians to become more aggressive in tackling the country’s growing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) crisis, warning that current efforts are failing to slow the spread of illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension. 

Speaking during the opening of the two-day Diabetes and Hypertension Association of Barbados’ ‘Live Stronger, Longer’ Blue Wellness Conference at The University of the West Indies, Bostic said health professionals and policymakers must stop “preaching to the converted” and instead focus on reaching people most in need of lifestyle intervention.

CARPHA: Between 21% and 27% of Caribbean adults are hypertensive, with many populations consuming nearly double the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation for salt. High sodium intake contributes to approximately 1.89 million deaths annually worldwide. 

In 2025, the WHO recommended that adults consume less than 5 grams of salt per day, equivalent to less than 1 teaspoon of salt. However, global average salt intake is estimated at 10.78 grams per day, more than double the recommended amount. The report highlighted that only a small number of countries globally have implemented comprehensive national salt reduction strategies.

WHD Related:

Ministry of Health, Wellness and Nutrition - Saint Lucia: Senior Medical Officer for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health, Dr. Shana Cyr-Philbert

WHO: WHO launches revamped SHAKE package to help reduce salt intake

PAHO: Launches the new HEARTS 2.0 clinical pathway for hypertension treatment, expanding recommendations for cardio-renal-metabolic prevention

Guyana Newsroom: Caribbean eating too much salt as hypertension, heart disease surge

St. Vincent Times: Hypertension, heart disease rise across the Caribbean

Guyana Chronicle: Excessive salt intake fuelling hypertension, heart disease across Caribbean

Barbados National Registry: “Silent but Serious”: Barbados Urged to Check Blood Pressure Before It’s Too Late

Click/Tap to play 

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.

Explore a toolkit by the Sustainable Finance Initiative of the School Meals Coalition for governments, agencies, and stakeholders to finance social programmes and improve health tax design and implementation. This toolkit brings tax and spending together. Exploring the connections, considerations and pros and cons of using revenue to finance social programmes, like school meals, helps to facilitate joined-up policymaking, which is increasingly important for governments to solve the complex problems of today.

CANDI: The leadership of the Caribbean Association of Nutritionists and Dietitians (CANDi) is pleased to launch Caribbean Nutrition Month (CNM) 2026. This month-long regional initiative will be launched on Caribbean Nutrition Day, June 1, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (JT) at the University of Technology, Jamaica (Lecture Theatre 50). Partners are invited to participate via hybrid modalities; details for virtual participation will be shared shortly. CANDi will also celebrate its 54th anniversary on June 26, 2026, making this year’s observance especially significant. CNM campaigns, guided by the Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) framework, feature an annual theme that promotes healthier dietary patterns and active living across Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

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.

CAPPA: Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) produced a documentary that highlights Nigeria's nutrition transition to unhealthy diets, dangers of SSBs on health, the economy, and the environment, and the role of the SSB tax as a tool to protect public health, generate revenue for health interventions. It also spotlighted CAPPA’s efforts to drive youth involvement in policy advocacy through engagements at the national and sub-national levels.

• Global Week 2026 launches with Leadership in Focus: From Commitments to Delivery
• WHA79 week opens with call to turn NCD targets into measurable action
• NCDs define today’s burden. Global health must respond
• Financing must match NCD and mental health commitments
• Air pollution is an NCD crisis. Clean air is part of the solution
• Key advocacy messaging of the NCD community at WHA79

World Hypertension Day 2016

The World Hypertension League (WHL) in partnership with the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) is excited to celebrate World Hypertension Day (WHD) 2016! World Hypertension Day will be celebrated on May 17th-May 24th, 2016. The theme for World Hypertension Day is Know Your Numbers with a goal of increasing high blood pressure (BP) awareness in all populations around the world.