Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Jamaica, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba as hurricane Melissa approaches.

The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARHPA), EarthMedic and EarthNurse Foundation for Planetary Health, and the Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network (ECHORN) adapted and updated a series of brochures originally developed by Dr. Saria Hassan (ECHORN with funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute).

This series of eight brochures was developed to support people in the English-speaking Caribbean who are living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension, mental health conditions, and cancer, in preparing for and managing their health during natural disasters.

The purpose of this resource is to safeguard public health nutrition in the Caribbean during emergencies by providing guidelines for the management of donations from the commercial sector. 

These Guidelines provide guidance on the types of food, beverage, financial and inkind donations, that provide healthy, nutritious food options and protect the diets of Caribbean people in need (including people living with noncommunicable diseases or NCDs), particularly during emergency response situations.

The Guidelines are based on the principles of human rights and equity that entitle every Caribbean person, including those who are vulnerable (such as PLWNCDs or children) or living in vulnerable conditions (such as emergency situations), access to adequate food.

From October 15-17, 2025, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) with the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) hosted a regional meeting entitled: Addressing the Commercial Determinants of NCDs in Caribbean SIDS: Protecting NCD policymaking from conflicts of interest and undue influence.

The goal of the 3-day meeting was to increase regional capacity to protect NCD policymaking from conflicts of interest and undue influence by actors with vested commercial interests. Over seventy participants convened in Barbados from twelve CARICOM countries representing Ministries of Health, Trade, Education, Agriculture, Sports, and Attorney General Offices; civil society advocates; regional organisations including PAHO, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Organisation Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission, the CARICOM Secretariat, and the University of the West Indies; and the private sector.

The meeting represents a major regional milestone in sensitising key NCD stakeholders about key concepts and regional experiences in addressing the commercial determinants of health and critically, advancing collective action towards the development of strategies and tools to support the management of conflict of interest, prevention of undue influence and overall improvement of NCD governance in Caribbean SIDS.

Dr. Kenneth Connell, HCC President, Dr. Amalia del Riego, WHO/PAHO Representative at the Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries and Mrs. Piedad Huerta (VIRTUAL) Director, ad interim, PAHO/WHO Subregional Program Coordination for the Caribbean provided welcoming remarks and were followed by Senator Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott Senior Minister, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Barbados - who officially opened the meeting. The strong high level political support was underscored on Day 2 when The Honourable Colin Jordan, Minister of Labour, Social Security & the Third Sector opened the day’s proceedings.

Highlights from the Meeting

1. Remarks from Senator Dr The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott Senior Minister, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Barbados.

“The commercial determinants of health are among the most powerful and complex drivers of disease in our time,” he warned. “If left unchecked, they will continue to erode the health gains we have made. The path forward requires courage, collaboration, and clarity of purpose.” 

“Governments and health institutions must establish and enforce strong conflict of interest safeguards. For tobacco, full exclusion from policy processes, as required under Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC, must remain non-negotiable. For alcohol, given its inherent risks, engagement in policy development should also be limited. As it relates to engagement with the food industry, this will require caution with transparency and independent oversight to prevent undue influences”

2. Remarks from The Honourable Colin Jordan, Minister of Labour, Social Security & the Third Sector.

"Honesty and collaboration across all sectors are essential in tackling the region’s worsening non-communicable disease (NCD) crisis" 

“We have to push the message that people must come before profit, but that people coming before profit does not mean that people and profit are mutually exclusive. We are able to find that model that will allow everybody to earn a living and people to be as healthy as possible”

3. Caribbean debut of the WHO Publication: WHO Economic and Commercial Determinants of Health in Small Island Developing States: Noncommunicable diseases, mental health conditions and injuries and violence.

4. Hearing from global and regional experts

5. Sharing of Caribbean experiences and solutions from the public sector, civil society (including people living with NCDs and young people) and the private sector

6. Spotlight on The Bahamas Health Promotion and Wellness Bill, 2025 

For more detail, media coverage and photos from the meeting visit our dedicated web page using the link below.

World Stroke Day 2025: Shining a Light on Heart Attacks and Strokes in Barbados

Barbados National Registry:  Every year, World Stroke Day is a reminder that cardiovascular disease—the combination of heart attacks and strokes—is still the biggest threat to health in Barbados. The latest data from the Barbados National Registry for Non-Communicable Diseases (BNR) show a troubling picture: both conditions are striking more people, and survival rates are not improving in the way they have in other parts of the world.

HCC Consultant Call

HCC is looking for consultants with expertise in the following areas to engage in short-term consultancies:

• Monitoring and evaluation including development of M&E plans and accountability frameworks;
• Coalition building, membership strengthening and engagement;
• Social participation and meaningful engagement in governance structures;
• Novel approaches to low-cost, secure patient database development for CSOs.

If you are interested, please send an email to:

hcc@healthycaribbean.org with the subject HCC Consultant Call: [insert area of expertise].

Big Tobacco Targets Caribbean Nations Ahead of Global Treaty Talks – Governments Must Shut Down Industry Interference

Statement of Yolonda C. Richardson, President & CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

As nearly every country in the world prepares to meet in Geneva next month for the Eleventh Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the world’s largest tobacco companies are actively targeting Caribbean nations to weaken global health commitments that have saved millions of lives.

At COP11, 183 Parties to the FCTC will come together to strengthen efforts to reduce tobacco use and protect public health. For 20 years, the FCTC has successfully guided countries in adopting proven measures like smoke-free laws, picture warning labels on tobacco products, higher tobacco taxes and prohibitions on tobacco marketing. The result of these polices has been millions of lives saved around the world.

OP-ED: Why is the Caribbean suddenly the focus of lobbying by groups like the World Vapers’ Alliance, Smoke Free Sweden and We Are Innovation? The answer is clear: our region is being targeted as an entry point for industry-driven narratives designed to weaken strong tobacco control ahead of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).

The arguments presented in recent published articles—available on August 11th in the NationNews, August 28th in Barbados Today, September 10th in News Americas Now, September 15th in Fox44News and September 29th in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian — and social media campaigns targeting Barbados and Trinidad are not grounded in independent public health science. The latest piece even tried to characterize Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Health data-collection efforts as supportive of a tobacco industry harm reduction agenda They repeat the same talking points pushed by tobacco and related industries for years: that electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products are “harm reduction” tools. What they do not say is that these products are aggressively marketed to children and youth worldwide, that they are addictive, and that their long-term health impacts remain uncertain. Use of these products among adolescents is strongly linked to subsequent initiation of cigarette and other tobacco product use, with ever-users having over three times the risk of starting cigarettes.

GBM: Belize is taking a bold step to protect its people, especially the youth, from the deadly harms of tobacco. Minister of Health and Wellness Kevin Bernard introduced the Tobacco Control Bill 2025 in the House of Representatives this morning, calling it a “decisive step” toward safeguarding public health and saving lives. 

“I rise to introduce a bill… to provide for the adoption and implementation of the tobacco control policies in accordance with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,” Bernard said. “It aims to protect present and future generations from the devastating harms of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.”

Barbados Defence Force Promotes Mental Wellness Among Personnel With Support From PAHO and the Ross University School of Medicine

PAHO: In alignment with the 2025 World Mental Health Day theme, “Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies,” the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) underscored its commitment to promoting the mental health and wellbeing of its service personnel and civilian members. 

As a frontline institution responding to crises, catastrophes, and humanitarian emergencies, the BDF recognises that operational readiness depends not only on physical fitness but also on psychological resilience. Throughout the month of October, observed as mental health month for the institution, they have been implementing a series of activities to foster mental health awareness, encourage stress management, and strengthen team cohesion through interactive and restorative wellness sessions.

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.

Funding Opportunity: Call for Applications for Rapid Response Fund Now Open

Global Health Advocacy Indicator: The Global Health Advocacy Incubator is pleased to launch an Open Call for the Food Policy Rapid Response Fund (RRF). Please read all sections below carefully to establish your organization’s eligibility. Applications will be accepted through November 10, 2025. Barbados and Jamaica are NOT eligible.

Impact of scaling up breastfeeding on reducing the global burden of non-communicable diseases in mothers and children

The Lancet Global Health:  Growing evidence suggests breastfeeding offers long-term protective effects against non-communicable diseases (NCDs) later in life in mothers and their offspring. These benefits could be substantial at the population level but have not yet been rigorously quantified. We aimed to estimate the population-level effect of scaling up exclusive breastfeeding on long-term NCD burden in mothers and their offspring in 132 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Click/Tap to play 

PAHO: This 90-minute webinar presented the new Strategy and Action Plan approved by PAHO Member States in 2024, shared national and regional experiences, and highlighted civil society contributions to accelerate the implementation of the WHO FCTC and addressed both conventional and emerging tobacco and nicotine products.

Journal of Public Mental Health: We’re excited to announce a new special issue on 'Physical and Mental Health: The journey to integration (promotion, prevention, care and recovery)' led by a fantastic team of guest editors: Dr Antonis Kousoulis MD, DrPH, Stephanie Whiteman, MPH, John Pateña, DrPH, MPH, MA and Tabitha Ellis! 

This issue aims to improve our understanding of integration of physical and mental health and offer solutions. We welcome submissions from academics, policy makers, practitioners, NGOs and people with lived experience.

Submission Deadline: 30 April 2026.

HCC President Visits Jamaica Minister of Health

HCC President visits the Jamaica Minister of Health, the Honourable Dr Christopher Tufton. The President of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition Sir Trevor Hassell paid a visit to the Honourable Dr Christopher Tufton Minister of Health during a recent visit to Jamaica to attend the launch of the Regional Centre for Research Excellence in Cardiometabolic Disease and Cancer.