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A Statement from the Healthy Caribbean Coalition on Caribbean Wellness Day 2024

The HCC - an alliance of over 85 civil Society organisations across the Caribbean - is proud join with partners the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), CARICOM and Ministries of Health to celebrate Caribbean Wellness Day 2024 under the theme Power Through Collective Action: Good Health is Our Right. 

As we look towards the 4th United Nations High Level Meeting on NCDs (HLM4) one year away in September 2025, and beyond to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the HCC recalls the vision and leadership of CARICOM Heads of Government seventeen years ago when they endorsed the Port of Spain Declaration on NCDs (POSD). This seminal document embodied the theme of Collective Action - recognising the need for a whole of society and whole of government response to NCDs and catalysing the global community around NCDs triggering the first UNHLM on NCDs in 2011. Although there has been some progress on the goals of the POSD, much remains to be done as evidenced by the 2022 WHO NCD Progress Monitor and the 2024 POS Tracking Grid (prepared by the Sir George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre, UWI); and most concerning, by the continued unacceptably high burden of obesity and NCDs leading to preventable suffering and death of Caribbean citizens across our region. 

This year’s CWD theme reminds us that Good Health is Our Right and we must continue to hold our leaders accountable to their commitments and play our respective roles in creating health-supporting environments. Over the next 12 months in lead up to the HLM4, HCC and our Caribbean CSO membership will join the global civil society community - under the banner TIME TO LEAD - calling on our political leaders to demonstrate fearless leadership in accelerating action on NCDs. As we did in 2018, HCC will unite with regional partners to agree on NCD advocacy priorities which will move us closer to achieving meaningful reductions in obesity and NCDs as we work towards achieving the SDGs. 

On behalf of the Founding President and the Board of Directors of the HCC, we wish all Caribbean people a Happy Caribbean Wellness Day and look forward to leveraging the power of collective action to ensure every citizen’s right to good health as we work towards the prevention and control of NCDs in the Caribbean.

Healthy Caribbean Youth: Dear Students of 2030,

2030 isn’t just a milestone—it’s a turning point for global development; it marks our global check-in on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 3:Good Health and Well-being. As you step into this new school year during this critical year, let’s rewind to 2024. We were a group of youth health advocates from across the Caribbean who fought passionately for healthier school food environments. Back then, students like yourselves were growing and learning in spaces that did not support your physical and mental well-being—a clear violation of your right to health. We could not just stand by and do nothing. So, we worked tirelessly to address these challenges, creating a vision for a healthier future—a future we hope has become a reality for you in this year of global accountability.

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CARPHA: Caribbean Wellness Day (CWD) is one of the regional responses geared towards increasing awareness and promoting measures among CARICOM Member States and their populations, to address the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which continue to severely impact the health, economy and development of the Caribbean region. This year, Caribbean Wellness Day (CWD) will be celebrated on Saturday 14th September 2024. The theme is - Power Through Collective Action: Good Health is Our Right.

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Big Soda's Playbook to Block Important Public Health Policy for Healthier Societies New Report Exposes Big Soda's Tactics to Undercut Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes Worldwide

HCC Press Release: The comprehensive analysis provided by GHAI demonstrates how the beverage industry, also referred to as Big Soda, uses a global playbook of strategies to thwart government efforts aimed at reducing the consumption of sugary drinks, a known driver of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other serious health problems. These tactics undermine public health initiatives while also negatively impacting environmental sustainability. In January 2024, The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) along with partners, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados (HSFB), the Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) and the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN), launched the “See the Truth” campaign, which in similar fashion, highlighted industry interference tactics deployed during the front-of-package labelling decision-making process. 

“While the global community is working towards creating healthier populations, Big Soda is using its influence to derail policies that could save millions of lives and billions in healthcare costs,” said Verónica Schoj, Vice President, Food and Nutrition, GHAI. “Our report reveals the depth and breadth of the industry's efforts to protect its profits at the expense of public health.” Through exhaustive monitoring and analysis, GHAI identified five strategies employed by Big Soda to obstruct SB taxes across more than 25 countries. These include:

1. Manipulating Tax Designs: Instances such as in Vietnam, where industry bodies have pushed to exclude certain drinks from taxation.
2. Mounting Legal Challenges: Examples from Colombia and Spain highlight how legal threats and challenges are used to intimidate governments and contest the legality of SB taxes.
3. Discrediting Scientific Evidence: Tactics observed in Guam and China where industry-funded research is leveraged to question the effectiveness of SSB taxes.
4. Economic Alarmism: As seen in Nigeria and Pakistan, economic arguments are employed to suggest that SB taxes would lead to job losses and economic downturns.
5. Exploiting Social Concerns: Efforts in Indonesia show how the industry uses corporate social responsibility to overshadow their products' health impacts.

“Across the Caribbean, the battle against Big Soda's interference is particularly poignant,” said Dr. Kenneth Connell, President, of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC). “We witness how these multinational companies manipulate the narrative and exploit local contexts to maintain their market share at the cost of public health.” 

The GHAI report calls on policymakers, civil society and health advocates to anticipate and counter these tactics with robust, evidence-based SB tax designs that prioritize health over industry profits.

PAHO: Wellness Week has been celebrated since 2011 with the aim of reinforcing and promoting a positive view of health. Wellness Week 2024 will focus on social cohesion. It will take place between 14 and 20 September, with a regional launch on 16 September.

Photo: BVI News

BVI News: The Ministry of Health and Social Development has announced the launch of the BVI Moves programme to commemorate Caribbean Wellness Day on Saturday, September 14, under the theme, “Power Through Collective Action.” The programme will kick off with a run or walk starting at the Ralph T. O’Neal Administration Complex at 6:00 a.m. Participants will follow Admin Drive onto Dual Carriage Way, proceeding to ZBVI in Baugher’s Bay and then returning to the complex.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Davidson Ishmael

Photo: SB

Barbados Today:  A National Nutrition Policy is being developed to tackle the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Davidson Ishmael said on Wednesday. 

Ishmael made the announcement at the inaugural National Forum for NGOs on Non-Communicable Diseases at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. The forum marked a united effort by government and civil society to address the island’s leading health challenge – the impact of lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancer and obesity. 

The policy, which is in its planning stages, seeks to implement wide-ranging measures to promote healthier lifestyles across all sectors of society, the minister said. 

United for Global Mental Health: Around the world, 700,000 people die by suicide every year – in 2019, more than one in every 100 deaths globally was due to suicide. In most countries suicide is not a criminal offence. But in 20 countries it is.

In these countries those who have attempted suicide can be arrested, prosecuted and punished by fines and typically one to three years in prison. Assuming one of the main intentions is to deter people from taking their life – alongside other reasons such as religious tradition – the evidence shows criminalisation is counterproductive. Many countries have made progress in their efforts to reduce the rates of deaths by suicide. For example, in recent years legislation criminalising suicide has been successfully repealed or superseded by new legislation in the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Lebanon, Singapore and India.

Photo: PAHO

PAHO: On the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day, observed on September 10, the Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, called for changing the stigmatizing narrative about suicide and fostering a culture of support and understanding. In the Americas, nearly 100,000 people die by suicide each year, and many more struggle with suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

NCD Alliance: The annual Global Week for Action on NCDs seeks to ensure NCD prevention and management get the attention and action they deserve, everywhere, for everyone.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as cancers, diabetes, mental health conditions and many others, are the #1 cause of death and disability worldwide. They account for 74% of all deaths and more than three out of four years lived with a disability. If no clear action is taken to reverse this trend, deaths from NCDs could rise to 52 million — or the population of South Korea — per year by 2030.

WHO: The global burden of unhealthy diets constitutes a major public health and development challenge worldwide. Urgent action is required to address malnutrition in all its forms, including undernutrition, micronutrient-related malnutrition, overweight, obesity, and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).To accelerate progress, particularly against diet-related NCDs, a comprehensive policy approach is required to create enabling and supportive food environments. 

As part of these efforts and in response to Member State requests, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a draft guideline on nutrition labelling policies. This guideline will aim to support countries in developing and implementing new, or strengthening existing, nutrition labelling policies.

CARPHA: The deadline for receipt of papers is December 13, 2024. 

Papers are selected based on scientific merit and relevance to the health priorities areas of the Caribbean. Submitting Authors may request oral or poster presentation but the final assignment of accepted papers will be made by the scientific review committee.

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.