The 3rd UN High-level Meeting on NCDs

by HCC

3rd UN High-level Meeting on NCDsThe 3rd UN High-level Meeting on NCDs was held on Thursday, 27th September 2018, during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly under the theme: Scaling up multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral responses to the prevention and control of NCDs in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The HLM3 was a unique opportunity for governments to showcase progress on NCDs and make bold political commitments towards addressing the NCD epidemic. Additional details can be found in the Final Draft of Modalities  Resolution for the 3rd High-level Meeting on NCDs (30 March 2018).

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HCC Open Letter to CARICOM Heads of Government at the 39th Regular Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government July 4-6, 2018, Kingston, Jamaica.

On the occasion of this, the Thirty-Ninth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) calls on you, Caribbean Heads of Government and State, to indicate your commitment to addressing one of our region’s most pressing development issues – noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – by attending the 3rd United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs.

This year on September 27th, 2018 in New York, the United Nations will host the 3rd High-Level Meeting on NCDs during the 73rd Meeting of the UN General Assembly. The 3rd High-Level Meeting on NCDs comes at a critical time when globally and in the Caribbean, rising rates of NCDs are vastly outpacing prevention and control efforts. Leaders from across the globe are reaffirming their resolve to take bold steps to reduce unnecessary suffering and death caused by these diseases by attending the 3rd High-Level Meeting on NCDs.

Read the full letter

The Thirty-Ninth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held at Montego Bay, Jamaica, 4-6 July, 2018.  The Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, chaired the proceedings.

The Thirty-Ninth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

The Thirty-Ninth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

The following extract from the Communiqué issued at the end of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), refers specifically to Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs).

Heads of Government noted that the Third United Nations (UN) High-Level Meeting (HLM3) on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) will be held on Thursday, 27 September 2018 at UN Headquarters, New York, USA, under the theme: Scaling up multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral responses to the prevention and control of NCDs in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They agreed that Member States should be represented at the highest level at the Meeting.

 

They recalled that CARICOM led the world in 2007 in confronting the then emerging health priority of NCDs with the convening of the first ever Summit on the topic. Subsequently, CARICOM States succeeded in placing NCDs on the UN Development Agenda which led to the first UN High Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of NCDs in 2011.

 

Heads of Government endorsed six priorities on which the Region should advocate for during the negotiation of the Outcome Document. These are: establishing and maintaining a smoke-free status for the Region; implementing policies geared to preventing childhood obesity, including for health-promoting school environments and Front of Package (FOP) labelling; promoting the elimination of cancer of the cervix; support for mitigation of post-disaster vulnerabilities related to NCDs in particular: nutrition, treatment and care; increasing international financing and technical support; and strengthening accountability through national coordinating mechanisms.

 

They commended the contribution of civil society organisations to regional efforts to counter NCDs.

Heads of Government expressed gratitude to the Pan American Health Organisation and the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) for the support provided to the CARICOM regional preparations for the HLM3.

The Heads of Government also made a Declaration on Climate Change which calls on the regional and global community to take concrete steps towards mitigating the devastating impacts of climate change.

Read the full Communiqué here.

HCC Open Congratulatory Letter in response to the Official Communiqué following the 39th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government July 4-6, 2018, Jamaica.

The Healthy Caribbean Coalition notes with tremendous pleasure the significant leadership in NCD prevention and control demonstrated by CARICOM Heads of Government and State at the recently concluded 39th Caribbean Community Summit.

CARICOM leaders at the Summit agreed that Member States should be represented at the highest level at the United Nations (UN) High-Level Meeting (HLM3) on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) to be held on Thursday, 27 September 2018 at UN Headquarters, New York, USA. Additionally CARICOM Leaders endorsed six priorities on which the Region should advocate for during the negotiation of the Outcome Document.

Read the full letter here.

Template letter, send to your Heads of Government/State download here.

HCC 6 Key Asks of CARICOM HOG

HLM3 Enough Social Media Campaign

CARICOM Heads Walk the Talk to the HLM3 Sept 27.18.

Please share these graphics on your social media channels and where possible tweet to your Prime Ministers and Ministers of Health. If you need the twitter contacts please reach out to maisha.hutton@healthycaribbean.org or sheena.warner-edwards@healthycaribbean.org.

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HLM3 videos

HCC Advocacy Priorities for the 3rd UNHLM on NCDs Outcome Document

HCC Advocacy Priorities for the 3rd UNHLM on NCDsThe HCC has outlined nine priority areas for the the 3rd UN High-level Meeting (UNHLM) on NCDs which will be held on Thursday, 27th September 2018. The priority areas were agreed to by consensus with HCC members and other stakeholders. The first six priorities are based on the NCD Alliance’s ENOUGH campaign priorities, the final three are unique to the Caribbean.

  1. Put People First
  2. Boost Financing for NCD prevention and control
  3. Step up action on childhood obesity
  4. Adopt Smart Fiscal Policies that Promote Health
  5. Save lives through equitable access to NCD treatment and UHC
  6. Improve accountability for progress, results and resources
  7. Strengthen post disaster health response systems to provide NCD treatment and care in disaster settings
  8. Eradicate Cervical Cancer
  9. Make the Caribbean a Smoke Free Zone
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UN Interactive Hearing in Advance of the UN HLM on NCDs

Civil society actors descended on New York with a united voice at the UN Interactive Hearing in Advance of the UN HLM on NCDs, held on Thursday July. The NCD Alliance had a full house at their customary CSO briefing on July 4th which outlined key priorities for the HLM3 Political Document.

UN Interactive Hearing

(L to R) HCC Team Maisha Hutton, Executive Director, HCC, Dr. Christine Chin, member of the Cancer Society of the Bahamas (CSOB), Dr. Williamson Chea, President CSOB, and Dr. Adelia Benjamin, President of the Bovell Cancer and Diabetes Foundation

UN Interactive Hearing

(L to R) Professor Alafia Samuels, Director of the George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre/HCC Technical Advisor, Sir George Alleyne, Director Emeritus PAHO/Patron HCC and Dr Karen Sealey, Director HCC/Trinidad & Tobago NCD Alliance

Sir George Alleyne was present at the briefing and shared his personal reflections on 1st HLM in 2011, the 2nd HLM in 2014 and the upcoming 3rd HLM – noting that political leadership at the highest levels was essential if we are to achieve forward momentum at this turning point and calling on CSO actors to draw on his estimated 4 billion advocates living with NCDs globally.

Professor Alafia Samuels presented on the Caribbean perspective on the first panel at the Hearing (See video here). Others from the Caribbean present at the Hearing included Dr. Karen Sealey, WHO Senior Technical Advisor to CARICOM PRs and members of the HCC team including Dr. Williamson Chea, President of the Cancer Society of the Bahamas (CSOB); Dr. Christine Chin, member of the CSOB; Dr. Adelia Benjamin, President of the Bovell Cancer and Diabetes Foundation; and Maisha Hutton, HCC Executive Director.

The HCC made an intervention from the floor (see video here, full text here) this and other statements can be seen on the WHO website here, a recording of the hearing can also be found on UN WebTV.

Members of the HCC team share their experiences of the UN Interactive Hearing on NCDs

Adelia Bovell-Benjamin of the Bovell Cancer Diabetes Foundation.

The UN Interactive Hearing, held on July 5th in NYC, was an enriching experience from which I came away with so much more information, knowledge and confidence regarding the need for NCD advocacy for policy at governmental level.

It also brought home clearly the role of civil society in advocacy, gaining political support and implementation.  The intention is to put the information gained to full use. The range of pre-meeting (NCD Alliance), opening segment, panels and discussions presented with new ways to deal with some of the challenges in advocacy and policy for NCDs.

The experiences and information gained at the meeting will be shared with members of the Bovell Cancer Diabetes Foundation (BCDF) and others near and far to help promote the cause.  But, of course, the real measure of this meeting lies in how it will affect HCC and BCDF, or more precisely, how it will affect the actions we the delegates will take after this meeting.

We at BCDF look forward to continue working with HCC, Maisha, Dr. Chin and Dr. Chea.  I also hope that our delegation will continue what we have heard in the meeting.  It was such a pleasurable experience.

Dr. Christine Chin and Dr. Williamson Chea of the Cancer Society of the Bahamas.

It was indeed an honour to represent the Healthy Lifestyles Team of the Cancer Society of The Bahamas at the UN Interactive Hearing on NCDs in New York on July 5, 2018.  Our deepest gratitude goes to Mrs. Maisha Hutton and Sir Trevor Hassell of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) for including us and Ms. Adelia Bovell-Benjamin of the Bovell Cancer Diabetes Foundation from Trinidad as part of the HCC delegation.

It was very educational to see how civil society organizations all over the world work passionately and cooperatively with the World Health Organization and together impact the governments of the world through the United Nations structure.

As a small region of the world, it was impressive to see how the Caribbean is well represented with contributions from Sir George Alleyne, Professor T. Alafia Samuels, Dr Karen Sealey and Mrs. Maisha Hutton.

This meeting has given us impetus to continue the work in the Bahamas to stop the scourge of NCDs and also to encourage our leaders to attend the HLM3 in September so major policies can be implemented globally and locally to quelch the impact of NCDs in our countries and make our citizens healthier.

Much thanks to HCC and the work they are doing around the region and the world!

Preparing CARICOM Ministries of Foreign Affairs for the 3rd UN High-level Meeting on NCDs, a briefing note contribution from Civil Society
We are at a critical moment in the prevention and control of NCDs – one that requires political leaders to take bold and decisive action to halt and reverse the adverse economic and health consequences of NCDs. The HCC is presently committed to galvanizing civil society and wider stakeholders to call for attendance of Heads of Government at the upcoming HLM3 as a demonstration of commitment to accelerated action at the national and regional levels.

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Preparing CARICOM Ministries of Foreign Affairs for the 3rd UN High-level Meeting on NCDs and Beyond

Our Civil Society Brief Informed COFCOR High Level Meeting NCD Deliberations.
The HCC briefing to guide Ministries for Foreign Affairs around the HLM3, ‘Preparing CARICOM Ministries of Foreign Affairs for the 3rd UN High-level Meeting on NCDs, a briefing note contribution from Civil Society‘ was specifically referenced in the Communique from the 21st Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) held on May 7-8 in the Bahamas.

The Brief was shared with the CARICOM Ministries of Foreign Affairs in advance of the session to inform deliberations around the upcoming 3rd High Level Meeting on NCDs to be held in NYC on September 27, 2018. The resource document was developed in recognition of the critical role played by these ministries in supporting the highest level of CARICOM representation at the HLM3.

The Caribbean NCD Forum

Caribbean NCD Forum 2018The Caribbean NCD Forum:  Supporting national and regional advocacy in the Caribbean in the lead up to the 3rd UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2018, took take place in Kingston, Jamaica from 23rd-25th April 2018. The Forum was sponsored by the World Diabetes Foundation and HCC’s ongoing  sponsor Sagicor Life Inc.. The regional meeting brought together a diverse group of over 90 stakeholders, with the aim to mobilise regional civil society organisations (CSOs) and other key stakeholders to ensure that the Caribbean is fully engaged in the 3rd UN High Level Meeting (UNHLM) on NCDs.

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The Caribbean NCD Forum: Technical Document

The Technical Document, developed specifically for the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) Caribbean NCD Forum, is provided as a resource and background document for both civil society and non-civil society participants.

However, it is also a valuable tool for wider use and will be a useful addition to the expanding collection of HCC information documents.

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HCC Caribbean NCD Forum – Report

HCC Caribbean NCD Forum Report is a detailed and comprehensive account of all three days of the Caribbean NCD Forum.

Almost 100 participants contributed to the Forum with Fourteen of 15 CARICOM Member States and three of five CARICOM Associate Members represented.

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HCC Caribbean NCD Forum - Report
Useful Information on the Third UN High Level Meeting on NCDs
ENOUGH NCDs
ENOUGH NCDs Campaign
(NCD Alliance)