This year, HCC’S annual Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Day (CARD 2024) will be centered around the theme: Unmasking Influence: Regulating Alcohol Marketing in the Caribbean. This is the ninth year of implementation of CARD, a day first celebrated in 2016 as an initiative led by the HCC and regional partners with the aim of building public awareness about the dangers of alcohol consumption and building public and policymaker support for the implementation of evidence-informed alcohol policies recommended by PAHO/WHO outlined in the WHO Safer Technical Package and the Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022-2030. 

Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Day has been held annually for the past nine years, under the themes and titles: The Misuse of Alcohol (2016); Drink less, Reduce Cancer (2017); Youth: Let’s talk about alcohol (2018); Women and Alcohol (2019); Alcohol and COVID-19 (2020); Live Better, Drink Less, alcohol gets in the way (2021 *in support of PAHO’s regional alcohol awareness campaign under the same banner); The WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022-2030 – Priorities for the Caribbean (2022); and Alcohol Research- Evidence for Action (2023).

The HCC will be disseminating materials in recognition of CARD in lead up to Friday 29 November 2024 when we will host our webinar.

As climate-related events worsen, the relationship between climate, food, nutrition and health systems becomes increasingly apparent. There is an urgent need for multisectoral action to strengthen regional food systems to safeguard the health and resilience of communities. 

On December 5th, the HCC will host a webinar, "Feeding Communities in the Eye of the Storm: Food Systems, Nutrition and Natural Disasters" join us for this crucial webinar.

What to Expect:

• Impact of Natural Disasters on Food Systems in the Caribbean
• Launch of HCCs newest resource "Safeguarding Public Health Nutrition in the Caribbean During Times of Emergency: Principles for Managing Food, Beverage, Financial and In-Kind Donations from the Commercial Sector"
• Stakeholder Perspectives & Recommendations on integrating nutrition during times of crisis This event will bring together key experts and practitioners to discuss strategies that can safeguard public health nutrition and strengthen regional food systems during times of disaster.

Left to right: Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sagicor Life Inc (Barbados) Paul Inniss and President of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition Dr Kenneth Connell

Photo: Sagicor

Sagicor: The Caribbean’s battle against non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including obesity, and related health challenges has received a powerful boost with the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Sagicor and the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC). This long-standing strategic relationship aims to strengthen and expand initiatives focused on enhancing health and wellness across the region. 

Sagicor, a leading provider of financial and insurance solutions, and HCC, a respected regional non-governmental organisation dedicated to preventing non-communicable diseases, have joined forces to address the growing health threats facing Caribbean communities.

President of HCC Dr. Kenneth Connell, emphasized the significance of the signing: "This collaboration is important as it signifies a unique relationship between an insurance company and a civil society organisation to really address the threat to the Caribbean’s existence, which is the threat of NCDs. We are extremely excited and hope that this novelty will be contagious and that similar relationships will build throughout our region." 

Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sagicor Life Inc. (Barbados) Mr. Paul Inniss, underscored the company’s ongoing commitment to health and wellness. "We have been partnering with the Coalition for more than a decade and were the initial fund sponsor to ensure the success of the HCC. Sagicor made a long-term commitment that we would stay the course with regards to prevention and wellness. I think that this partnership is critical and important, and we hope it continues to touch the communities in which the HCC operates." 

The MOU marks a significant step forward in the region’s efforts to combat non-communicable diseases and foster a more health-conscious Caribbean population. Through this partnership, Sagicor and HCC are poised to make a lasting impact on the health and well-being of individuals and communities throughout the region.

Related media:

Barbados Today: Sagicor, Healthy Caribbean Coalition sign MOU to tackle health threats

Photo: CARICOM

CARICOM:  The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has been challenged by its stakeholders and Caribbean member states representatives to ensure that its new Caribbean Subregional Cooperation Strategy (SCS) 2025-2029, is responsive and practical and when implemented, impactful. 

During the opening of a multisectoral stakeholder consultation hosted at the CARICOM Secretariat, in Georgetown, Guyana, Minister of Health, the Honourable Frank Anthony, stressed the need for partnership to tackle priority areas including noncommunicable diseases and mental health, pandemic preparedness and health security, human resources for health, health equity and accessibility and environmental health.

The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) in partnership with the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) recently engaged media professionals from around the region in the healthy nutrition food policy space. It’s part of the partnership between the two regional entities to encourage more and better quality of one of the key issues affecting Caribbean people. 

For the past two years HCC has sponsored themed categories in print and television in the CBU’s Media Awards. The goal of the recent sensitization event was to strengthen understanding of healthy nutrition food policy across the Caribbean through engagement with news teams, media managers and other communication professionals. The objectives included sensitizing senior media practitioners on issues related to healthy nutrition food policy; identifying how the lives of individuals get better with healthy nutrition food policy and encouraging media practitioners to engage more with healthy nutrition food policy content. 

Attendees at the virtual session had the opportunity to find out more about the HCC themed category ahead of the upcoming 36th CBU Media Awards (CMA), which will be presented in Barbados next August. 

CBU Secretary General, Sonia Gill advised attendees that the Call for Entries will be issued in the coming weeks and emphasised the tremendous value of the partnership between the HCC and CBU. She noted that the HCC had taken the initiative to provide bursaries this year to both winners of the CMA Healthy Nutrition Food Policy categories, to assist reporters and producers in further expanding on their work in the area.

HCCs Communication Officer Mrs. Sheena Warner-Edwards identified the policies which guided the criteria for the themed categories and identified how food policies lay the foundation for a supportive environment to allow individuals to achieve better health and wellness. She also identified key resources that can be utilized by the media in content creation including the childhood obesity portal, found on the HCCs website.

HCCs Executive Director Mrs. Maisha Hutton, provided insight into the effects of commercial determinants of health on policymaking and how conflicts of interest could arise. 

Ms. Naledi Sikhakhane, a journalist based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal South Africa, who writes for Daily Maverick, provided tremendous insights into investigative and solutions journalism on food justice food security and nutrition, cost of living, food industry regulations, land, agriculture, and other interlinked themes that speak to access to food, nutrition and health as a basis of realising social justice. 

The audience was kept engaged by Moderator Mr. Amitabh Sharma, the print Op-Ed Editor of CBU Member, the RJRGLEANER Communications Group.

Michele Baker, CHES®️, has recently joined the Global Climate and Health Alliance as their new Policy Coordinator. She is currently attending COP29 in Azerbaijan, advocating for the inclusion of health in climate discussions and representing St. Kitts and Nevis as part of the SKN delegation. As COP29, known as "the Finance COP," addresses crucial funding decisions, it is essential that the health impacts of climate change and the unique needs of small island developing states are considered in climate finance allocations. Michele will also be representing Healthy Caribbean Youth and the WHO Youth Council as a panelist in the "Youth Empowerment in Climate and Health: Fighting NCDs Through Climate Action" session, hosted by the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) in the World Health Organization Pavillion.

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Ministry of Health and Wellness and Elderly Affairs Saint Lucia: This Diabetes Awareness Month, the Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Elderly Affairs is inspiring staff to cut down on sugar with a fun and impactful challenge! Led by the Dental Services Unit, the No Sweet Tooth Challenge is all about making healthier choices together. Launched on November 8th 2024, participants will tackle weekly goals aimed at reducing sugar and building nutritious habits—promoting a healthier workplace and spreading the word about diabetes prevention! Let’s support each other in saying goodbye to added sugars and hello to wellness!

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony with officials from the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) at the Ministry of Health’s Brickdam Headquarters discuss ways to improve media reporting on suicide and mental health in Guyana

Photo: Guyana Chronicle

Guyana Chronicle:  Officials from the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) met with Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, at the Ministry of Health’s Brickdam Headquarters on Tuesday to discuss ways to improve media reporting on suicide and mental health in Guyana. The PAHO team, led by consultants Tanya Nicole Fernandes and Amiti Varma, included Mr. Daniel Albrecht, PAHO/WHO Representative (acting) in Guyana, and Dr. Rainer Escalada, PAHO’s Advisor on Health Surveillance, Disease Prevention, and Control.

Photo: PAHO/WHO

PAHO:  Regional and national technical health experts recently gathered in Trinidad and Tobago to collaborate on the development of the PAHO/WHO Caribbean Subregional Cooperation Strategy (SCS).

PAHO: In the Americas, the number of people with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1990. 

Geneva/Washington D.C., 14 November 2024 (PAHO/WHO) - The number of adults living with diabetes worldwide has surpassed 800 million, more than quadrupling since 1990, according to new data released in The Lancet on World Diabetes Day. The analysis, conducted by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), highlights the scale of the diabetes epidemic and an urgent need for stronger global action to address both rising disease rates and widening treatment gaps, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Related :

The Lancet: Rising diabetes, lagging treatment, and the need for better systems

NCD Alliance: NCD Alliance is delighted to invite you to our 2024 4th Quarter Advocacy Webinar, where we will look back at the year so far, share insights into the 156th session of the WHO Executive Board and share NCDA plans and priorities for next year on the road to the High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025. The webinar will take place on Thursday, December 5, 2024, 14:00 – 15:00 CET. 

An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure: Investing in Non Communicable Disease (NCD) Prevention and Control in the Caribbean to Protect Our Future, by Dr. Kimberly-Ann Gittens-Baynes. During the Global Week for Action on NCDs— 5th to 11th September 2022, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) along with civil society organizations around the world seek “to ensure NCD prevention and care get the attention and action they deserve, everywhere, for everyone”. This year, the campaign’s theme is “Invest to protect” and highlights the need for increased and urgent investment in NCDs. This blog is written in support of this initiative.