In October, Mrs. McGaw attended the FCTC Secretariat pre-COP7 meeting in Panama as the FCA regional representative. The meeting was sponsored by PAHO/WHO and the objective was to seek feedback and take regional decisions on the various documents to be tabled at COP7. Mrs. McGaw  took the opportunity to  interact with several members from the Caribbean regarding the status of tobacco control in their countries. CARICOM was well represented at the pre-COP with representation from MOH/Foreign Affairs from the following countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Suriname, Belize, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, and St. Kitts and Nevis. Barbara's participation in both the pre-COP7 and the COP7 was funded through TFK (Tobacco Free Kids).

Read more about the COP7 meeting here.

Visit the COP7 Website here.

A number of resources from the Framework Convention Alliance relating to COP7 can be found here.

Related media coverage:

In the lead up to chairing the WCRF panel, Professor Hassell was featured on the WCRF website discussing the challenges and opportunities which exist for those wishing to develop, or further advance, their cancer prevention and control strategies in unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, consumption of alcohol and overweight & obesity. Read more

The HCC was pleased to chair the NCD Café Session discussing the importance of Leaving No one Behind: Strategies to Reduce the Burden of Cancer and NCDs in Vulnerable Populations. Panelists included Dr. Jon Klein, Executive Director, NCD Child and the Associate Executive Director of the American Academy of Paediatrics; Dr. Ibtihal Fadhil, Regional Advisor NCDs, WHO EMRO; Dr. Emmanuel Luyirika, Executive Director, African Palliative Care Association.

Against the background of achieving the ambitious 2030 agenda, speakers explored the unique challenges and solutions around ensuring access to NCD prevention and control for vulnerable groups with a focus on children, refugee populations and the elderly. Successful initiatives and approaches tailored to specific groups were shared. The lively discussion ended on a positive note with a collective commitment to seek solutions rather than focussing on the tremendous challenges, and the importance of building on existing successes and developing strong partnerships for sustainable solutions. Read more on the NCD Café on the NCD Alliance website here.

Building a Tool-Kit for Community Health Workers in Haiti: Tools and Techniques to Increase Engagement with and Awareness of Breast Cancer Services.

Presented by Social Worker, Mita Alcindort Casimir, of Innovating Health International, Haiti. View the presentation here.

Increasing attention is being paid to the growing global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially cancer. Cancer is now a leading cause of mortality worldwide, accounting for one in seven deaths. Efforts to reduce cancer incidence and mortality have matured during the past five decades. Civil society non-governmental and non-business organisations as well as individuals and communities - has an important role in implementing cancer control efforts. Members of civil society provide education to the public and support health-care providers by providing training, equipment, and supplies. Read more. 

Read more about The Lancet Series on Health, Equity and Women's Cancer here.

The Inaugural Caribbean Cancer Survivorship Conference, organized as a collaborative effort, between the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), Cancer survivors in Action (CSIA), City of Hope and Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC); held on October 21, 2016 at the National Academy for Performing Arts, Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago.

Cancer Survivors, oncologist, medical practitioners, oncology nurses and other health care professionals met at this forum in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The attendees were introduced the concept of survivorship, and there were opportunities to share experiences and strategies in response to the current burden cancer has on communities here in the Caribbean region and globally.

Conference presentations focused on Survivorship and the delivery of care to cancer patients and the role it had in enhancing the quality of lives of cancer patients from diagnosis to treatment and throughout their cancer survival. Read more

The HCC held its first Community Consultation with People Living with NCDs on October 21, 2016 as part of the UTT/CSIA Inaugural Cancer Survivorship Conference (see above). The initiative was implemented with the support of the NCD Alliance and Medtronic Philanthropy through the ‘Strengthening Health Systems, Supporting NCD Action’ global program. The goal of the community consultation was to inform the development of a draft Caribbean Patient-led Cancer Advocacy Agenda which will form part of a larger regional and ultimately global Advocacy Agenda for people living with Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

This first conversation with female cancer survivors was led by Dr. Natalie Greaves a lecturer at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus. Discussions were focussed on exploring key themes relating to the illness/ wellness experience of cancer survivors and gathering patient/survivor/caregiver initiated recommendations for addressing barriers along the care continuum. The key themes were: challenges in cancer care; nomenclature related to living with a diagnosis of cancer; strategies for improving engagement of persons with a diagnosis of cancer to initiate patient-led advocacy- including at the policy level; and the position of cancer in the broader NCD Agenda. A report from the consultation will be available on the roundup and the HCC website soon.

Guyana Chronicle - The Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with Merck Sharp and Dhome (MSD), on Friday re-launched the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination project, to guard against cervical cancer in Guyana.“Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers out there. It is the number one cause of death in Guyana,” said Dr. Vikash Chatrani, a medical doctor from Barbados.

The re-launching of the HPV project has seen a host of local nurses, midwives, doctors and practitioners from both the public and private health sectors in Guyana being encouraged to educate persons about HPV. Read more

Additional press coverage:

Read about The Caribbean Civil Society Cervical Cancer Prevention Initiative (C4PI) here and the Caribbean Civil Society Cervical Cancer Advocacy Initiative here

Private Physician Data Abstraction - The time has come where we are concentrating on registering 2013 cases from Private Physicians. Over then next few months you will be hearing from the BNR data abstractors as they call your practice to verify information or to review cases further.

We appreciate those doctors who continue to assist us and look forward to working with you as we strive to ensure that our population data is as accurate as possible. Read more

The Heart Foundation of Jamaica will host its 38th staging of the Run for Your Heart 5K run, on Sunday November 27, 2016 at the Stadium East facility. Run for Your Heart is an event geared towards highlighting the value of exercise as an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
 
This event will also raise funds for health education and health promotion programmes in schools. Proceeds will also be used for maintaining as well as expanding schools and screening programmes. Read more

Breast cancer is seemingly still a major health concern for Guyana, judging from the latest figures released by the Guyana Cancer Institute (GCI).

Thirty-five government officials from 30 developing countries and five developed countries attended the workshop on trade and public health, which took place on 17-21 October 2016 at the WTO’s headquarters.

The workshop was organized by the WTO Secretariat, in close collaboration with the secretariats of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Tailored for senior policymakers, the workshop included a combination of expert presentations, interactive debates on cross-cutting themes linking trade agreements to topical issues, such as non-communicable diseases and human rights, and case studies. In addition to an introductory panel discussion that mapped the interface between health, trade and intellectual property. Read more

"An egg a day can cut chances of suffering a fatal stroke," The Times reports. A new review of existing data covering around 300,000 people suggests eating up to one egg a day may lower stroke risk; but not the risk of heart disease.

The health effects of eggs have been debated for years. Eggs, which contain cholesterol, were thought to increase risk of heart disease by raising cholesterol levels.

But more recent studies show that cholesterol in food has little impact on the levels of cholesterol in your blood – most cholesterol in the blood is made by the liver. Read more

Two reports have warned of an explosion in cancer deaths among women, with a toll, mainly from breast cancer, of around 5.5 million a year by 2030 - roughly the population of Denmark.

This represented a near 60% increase in less than two decades, said an analysis conducted by the American Cancer Society (ACS), released on Tuesday at the World Cancer Congress in Paris. 

A second report, published in the Lancet medical journal on Wednesday, said the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer alone could almost double to 3.2 million a year by 2030 from 1.7 million in 2015. For cervical cancer, the number of diagnoses could “rise by at least 25% to over 700,000 by 2030”, mainly in low- and middle-income countries, said a statement from the Lancet. Read more

Career Opportunity – Noncommunicable Diseases, Prevention and Control 
PAHO Fixed-term Appointment, Two year contract, first year probationary period. Application Deadline: 9 November 2016. Read more

The HCC is a regional network of Caribbean health NGOs and civil society organizations with the remit to combat chronic diseases (NCDs) and their associated risk factors and conditions. Our membership presently consists of more than 50 Caribbean-based health NGOs and over 55 not-for-profit organisations and, in excess of 200 individual members based in the Caribbean and across the globe.

To join the HCC email us at hcc@healthycaribbean.org