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Healthy Caribbean Coalition

March 26th - March 31st 2019

Feature

Sharjah Declaration on NCDs for Children

HCC Youth Advocates Krystal Boyea and Pierre Cooke Jnr.
HCC Youth Advocates Krystal Boyea and Pierre Cooke Jnr. representing the Caribbean at the first Global Non-communicable Diseases, NCDs, for Children and Youth Forum in Sharjah
NCD CHILD
The first Global Non-communicable Diseases, NCDs, for Children and Youth Forum organised by NCD Child and hosted by Friends of Cancer Patients UAE in Sharjah, concluded with the Friends of Cancer Patients, announcing the Sharjah Declaration on the Global NCDs for Children and Youth Forum.
Krystal Boyea and Pierre Cooke Jnr. with Dr Mychelle Farmer
Krystal Boyea and Pierre Cooke Jnr. with Dr Mychelle Farmer, NCD Child Chair (centre)
HCC Youth Advocate Krystal Boyea speaking at the Youth Forum
HCC Youth Advocate Krystal Boyea speaking at the Youth Forum
The Sharjah global declaration had laid out seven key pillars, adopted by the forum’s participants to strengthen collaborative action and commitment in their respective countries.
  • Recognition of the deep lasting impact of NCDs on family health and well-being;
  • Acknowledgment of the positive change that starts with care for families and communities that extends to the health centres;
  • Recognition of young leaders as essential partners for the prevention and control of NCDs and ensuring their participation in the global NCD advocacy and policy campaigns, consultations and coalitions;
  • Innovation and promotion of proven evidence-based developments to address all NCDs including childhood cancers, palliative care and pain relief, and vaccines capable of preventing cancer;
  • Commitment to the life course approach to NCDs and the organization of life-long primary care for NCDs through universal health coverage;
  • The active promotion of family health literacy to improve understanding about NCDs prevention and control taking into consideration cultural and social contexts;
  • The empowerment of all including children with Non-Communicable Diseases  to share their health stories and lived experiences, to strengthen advocacy and to guide stakeholders for lasting improvements in family health and well-being.
The declaration will be disseminated to various government entities and ministries for effective legislative changes and have a positive impact on policy decisions.
Related Media
News

Managing Conflict of Interest in the Caribbean

What Are the Rules of Engagement When Working With the Unhealthy Commodities Industry in Small Island Developing States?
Participants at the Managing Conflict in the Caribbean Meeting
On Tuesday March 26 - Wednesday March 27, 2019, the HCC with support through a Letter of Agreement with PAHO, hosted a meeting on Managing Conflict of Interest for NCD prevention and control in the Caribbean with wider Implications for Small Island Developing States.
Professor Jeff Collin
Professor Jeff Collin, The University of Edinburgh
The meeting brought together regional stakeholders from civil society and ministries of health with the aim of building regional capacity to identify and manage conflict of interest. Over the course of the two days the small group - led by Professor Jeff Collin and Dr. Sarah Hill from The University of Edinburgh and Dr. Fabio Gomes, PAHO Regional Advisor on Nutrition and Physical Activity - shared related experiences and reviewed the HCC draft COI policy and the draft WHO Scoping Tool for for preventing and managing COI in nutrition policy. 
Dr. Sarah Hill
Dr. Sarah Hill,
The University of Edinburgh
Dr. Fabio Gomes
Dr. Fabio Gomes, PAHO Regional Advisor on Nutrition and Physical Activity
This meeting builds upon a 2017 HCC Meeting on Advocacy, Accountability and Conflict of Interest (AACOI).

The next steps for HCC include finalising of the HCC COI Policy to govern the identification and management of COI within the HCC Secretariat and outside of the Secretariat when HCC seeks to engage with external actors. The development of this tool is a critical element for improving and strengthening HCC’s internal health governance structures. This is a rapidly evolving and highly complex space both globally and in small developing states such as those found in the Caribbean.
If are interested in learning more about HCC's work in this area or sharing related experiences, please reach out to us via email: maisha.hutton@healthycaribbean.org.

HCC Childhood Obesity Webinar Series

Building Advocacy Capacity for Childhood Obesity Prevention in CARICOM
The HCC is pleased to announce the first webinar series in support of the Civil Society Action Plan 2017-2021: Preventing Childhood Obesity in the Caribbean titled “Building Advocacy Capacity for Childhood Obesity Prevention in CARICOM”.

This series consists of 7 webinars intended to build the capacity of Civil Society Organisations (CSO’s) and other key stakeholders advocating for and implementing childhood obesity prevention (COP) policies in the region.

Set within the wider COP policy context, the series highlights policies that encourage the creation of healthier food environments including healthy school policies, front of package warning labels and sugar-sweetened beverage taxes of at least 20%. The series also aims to build advocacy capacity for the promotion of physical activity among children and adolescents through the creation of active communities and countries.

Vegetable Harvest at Gambier Primary School, Bahamas

Vegetable Harvest at Gambier Primary School, Bahamas
Patricia Minnis, Wife of the Prime Minister and School Principal, Delores Forbes are pictured sharing in the enthusiasm of the recent harvest. (Photo/Courtesy Ann Higgins)
The Bahamas Weekly: Nassau, The Bahamas - Harvest!  Vegetables have been cultivated at Gambier Primary School Garden as a project of Office of the Spouse -- Mrs. Patricia Minnis, wife of the Prime Minister. Grade 6 students participated in the project which has produced bountiful beets, onions, tomatoes, sweet peppers, and broccoli. The next planting will be of melon and pumpkin, which the students will enjoy as appetizing dishes prepared by school lunch providers. 
Read more

The Bahamas Healthy Lifestyles Team (HaLT) Setup Their First School Vegetable Garden

Healthy Lifestyles Team Bahamas
The Healthy Lifestyles Team (HaLT) have setup their first vegetable garden at the Stephen Dillet Primary School, in Nassau.
HaLT have setup their first vegetable garden
HaLT have setup their first vegetable garden
HaLT have setup their first vegetable garden

Physician Groups Call for Taxes and Regulations on Kids’ Access to Sugary Drinks

20-ounce bottle of Gatorade
How much sugar is your kid eating? For a 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade, there are 33 grams of sugar in about 97% of the bottle. (Photo: Forrest Aguar and Michelle Norris for CNN)
CNN: Physicians' groups have long taken a stand against high consumption of sugary drinks in the United States - and now they are calling for several policies to limit access to sugar-sweetened beverages among children and teens.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association released policy recommendations on Monday targeted at federal, state and local lawmakers, encouraging them to implement policies that would reduce children's intake of sugary drinks, such as sodas, sports drinks and juice.
Tax Hikes and Other Ways to Limit Sugary Drinks for Kids
Image: American Academy of Pediatrics and American Heart Association
Read more
Related Media:

Obesity-Prevention Efforts by No Means Diluted

By Suzanne Soares-Wynter, PhD, Clinical Nutritionist at the Caribbean Institute for Health Research.
Obesity-Prevention Efforts by No Means Diluted
Jamiaca Gleaner: Jamaica, like many other countries, has finally taken action to fight the war on obesity. This is necessary if we are to have any hope of controlling the social and financial burdens of related morbidity and mortality.

The fact that the severe forms of childhood malnutrition seen in former years have all but disappeared is testament to Jamaica being adept in solving its own nutritional problems. This was the result of local research into the understanding and treatment of severe malnutrition, as well as education, training, and improved food and health policies.

The recent closure of the malnutrition ward at The University of the West Indies’ Caribbean Institute for Health Research highlights the significance of this achievement. However, since the early ’80’s, we have slowly transitioned to the other extreme of mal- or ‘bad’ nutrition – obesity.
Read more

Screening Important Says Cancer Support Services President

President of Cancer Support Services
President of Cancer Support Services, Henderson Griffith (Photo: Barbados Advocate)
Barbados Advocate: Being screened and getting tests done regularly are important. This sentiment is being stressed by President of the Cancer Support Services (CSS), Henderson Griffith. During an interview with The Barbados Advocate, Griffith highlighted that data showed that colon cancer was ranked third on the lists of cancers that directly affected Barbadians, and since colon cancer was one that was not easily detected until it was too late, he believes it is important for persons to be tested regularly.

Cancer Support Services recently hosted a Colon Cancer Screening event at their new headquarters in an effort to continue to raise awareness on the importance of regular testing.
Read more

Join the New HCC Facebook Group

HCC Facebook Group
We have now created a Healthy Caribbean Coalition Facebook group in order to make sure you are seeing more of our content, especially the content shared by other CSOs in the region. The group, which you can join here will allow you to control when you see our content, rather than relying on the Facebook feed which has become less reliable in terms of alerting people to new content.

The Group will help ensure you are seeing more HCC content and will give you the opportunity to share content directly with others who are interested in a heathy Caribbean. You will still be able to share content from the page and you can still go to our Facebook page, where we will still share more curated content.
 
To make it easier to be notified about our group content, you can set notifications on Facebook to see the page’s content via your Facebook notifications. To do this, join the page and be sure to highlight the notifications option just below the cover picture of the group. Be sure to set it to all posts so you will see everything. If that becomes too much, you can change to highlights.

For additional instructions click here.
Join the Group

Doctors Get Training in Early Detection of Heart Diseases

Dr. Kenneth Connell
Consultant for PAHO, Dr. Kenneth Connell  (Photo: DPI)
Dept Public Information Guyana: Medical doctors, specifically those at the Primary Health care level will be better equipped with the requisite knowledge in early detection of heart diseases. This comes after the World Health Organisation (WHO), through its Global Hearts initiative, is supporting the government of Guyana in scaling efforts in the prevention and control of Cardiovascular diseases.

The doctors attached to health centres and hospitals across Guyana engaged in a two-day capacity building workshop from March 25-26 at the Marriott, Kingston, Georgetown.
Read more

Antigua and Barbuda Looking to Become Region’s First Wellness Destination

ABTA first-ever Wellness Tourism Forum
Participants at the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) first-ever Wellness Tourism Forum  (Photo courtesy: The Daily Observer)
The Daily Observer: The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA) hosted its first-ever Wellness Tourism Forum yesterday at the White House Events Centre on Ffryes Beach. It was the twin islands’ starting move toward uncharted territory – becoming the first wellness destination in the Caribbean.

CEO of the ABTA Colin James set the tone for the day’s event, saying: “The aim of this wellness program is to position Antigua and Barbuda as the wellness destination and to establish various unique selling points of this fastest growing niche market; and so if tourism is the wheel and epicenter upon which our country’s economy turns, it stands to reason that there must be several spokes supporting this wheel.”
Read more

Stressful Life Events Tied to Heart Disease in Older Black Women

Stressful Life Events Tied to Heart Disease in Older Black Women
 Photo: American Heart Association
Medical Express: Stressful life events were linked to higher incidents of heart attack, stroke and other types of cardiovascular disease in black women, according to new research that also looked at whether a person's resilience could help ward off the impact of stress.

"Stress may be particularly relevant for African-American women, given the discriminatory environment in which these women may live. However, research on the relationship between stress and CVD [cardiovascular disease] among African-American women is sparse," said the authors of an Ohio State University-led study published March 26 in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
Read more

New Funding Opportunity from the LINKS Initiative

LINKS initiative
 Photo: Links Global Community
A New funding opportunity from the LINKS initiative is now available. Led by Resolve to Save Lives, for those interested and working on cardiovascular disease prevention. Grants awarded this year are focused on managing high blood pressure, reducing salt intake and eliminating trans fats.
 
In order to access the grant website you need to become members of LINKS, which you can be easily done here: www.linkscommunity.org 
 
The new call for applications ends in 15 June 2019.

The first recipients of the LINKS grants, received a total of US$1.25 million to promote cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment in low- and middle-income countries. These grants are one-time catalysts to create programs to prevent cardiovascular disease; for sustainability, support will largely need to come from the countries themselves. You can view the press release here.
 
The grants were awarded to programs that focus on one of three approaches to improving heart health: managing high blood pressure, reducing salt intake, and eliminating trans fat.

One of the recipients is the College of Health Sciences at the University of Technology, Jamaica, to assess the trans-fatty acid profile of spreadable fats, edible oils, cookie products, snacks, fast foods from transnational and local restaurants and bakeries across Jamaica to lay the groundwork for the development of national standards and policy in Jamaica.
Read more

Children’s Chances of Surviving Cancer Less Than 30% in Poor Nations - Study

A child receives treatment at 57357 hospital, in the Egyptian capital, Cairo
A child receives treatment at 57357 hospital, in the Egyptian capital, Cairo
(Photo: Ahmed Gomaa/Xinhua/Alamy)
The Guardian UK: Figures reveal a striking disparity in five-year cancer survival rates for children in developing nations compared with those from rich countries.

More than 80% of children diagnosed with the disease in high-income states will live for more than five years, yet fewer than 30% of young people with cancer in low- and middle-income nations have the same chance of survival, research has shown.

Every year, 429,000 children and adolescents are expected to develop cancer. The vast majority of those – 384,000 – are from developing countries, according to a paediatric cancer study published in Science magazine.
Read more

Obesity News from Across the Globe

Put the burger down
Photo: Pexels

Put the Burger Down: Shocking New Report Finds 67 per Cent of Aussies Are Obese

Starts at 60: Most over-60s are aware that being obese can increase the risk of serious health conditions including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer, but a new report has revealed that obesity is still a growing problem in Australia. Read more
Easter eggs
Photo: Alamy

Easter Eggs Are ‘Fuelling Obesity Crisis Because Shops Sell Them Too Early’

The Telegraph: hops are being urged to stop putting Easter eggs on sale so early, as health chiefs warn that one in four consumers has already eaten a whole one. Charities said increasingly aggressive sales tactics were fuelling the global obesity crisis, and leaving parents at the mercy of pester power for months on end. Read more
Special Offers Fuel Obese Shoppers
Photo: © Cancer Reseach UK

Special Offers Fuel Obese Shoppers

Cancer Research UK: Shoppers whose supermarket trolleys are stacked with food and drink offered on special promotions* have more than a 50% increased chance of being obese, according to a Cancer Research UK report. This puts them at a greater risk of 13 different types of cancer including bowel and breast.   Read more
Obesity and Alcohol Responsible for Nearly 30,000 Cases of Breast Cancers
Photo: © Shutterstock

Obesity and Alcohol Responsible for Nearly 30,000 Cases of Breast Cancers in the Next Decade

Medical Express: Maintaining a healthy weight and not consuming alcohol regularly could help prevent thousands of breast cancer cases, a new big data study by UNSW Sydney researchers has found. The findings could help inform future cancer control strategies. Read more

PAHO Alcohol and Health Webinar Series 2019

PAHO Alcohol and Health Webinar Series 2019
Credit: PAHO
PAHO: The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Unit is coordinating a series of monthly webinars on Alcohol and Health throughout 2019. The webinar series is aimed at disseminating up-to-date and accurate information about alcohol epidemiology, harms, policies and research in the Region of the Americas and globally, which in turn can be used for advocacy, policy development and implementation. 

Register to the series to receive the invitations and the recordings and presentations of the webinars. Register at: http://eepurl.com/gfTHYT 
Read more

The American Heart Association Institute for Precision Cardiovascular Medicine Data Grant Portfolio

Closing Date for Applications 30th July 2019
AHA Grants
Grants are open to applicants outside the U.S., Training Grant applicants must hold at least a bachelor’s degree, Clinical Training Grants are for recent medical school graduates. Fields of study using bioinformatics, code development, and scientific community development are welcome.
Read more

Please Help to Monitor the Health of Caribbean Schools

MHCS
My Healthy Caribbean School (MHCS) is an initiative of the HCC which provides students, teachers and parents with the opportunity to monitor the school environment with a focus on nutrition and physical activity.
Find out more
Key Messages From Our Publications
Key Messages from the Third Annual Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Day
Sobering Myths & Misconceptions
Youth and Alcohol Don't Mix
Read more
The NCD Alliance

Newsletter

In this edition:
  • NCD trailblazers: Integrating NCDs and women's health - spotlight on cervical cancer
  • Call to ensure a gender lens on UHC packages: CSW63
  • Now open: registration for UHC interactive hearing
  • Affected by NCDs? Contribute to OVOV consultation on UHC
  • Help inform NCDA priorities for the UN HLM on UHC
  • Urgent call to scale up resources to end TB
  • LINKS funding opportunity for CVD prevention
Read more
Childhood Obesity Prevention Scorecard
Forthcoming Events

April

Barbados National Registry Celebrates 10th Anniversary

April 5th, 2019, the BNR, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness will be hosting a 10th Anniversary CME Seminar and Public Lecture at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. Read more
Essence Of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation - April Health Walk

Essence Of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation - April Health Walk


Join the Essence Of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation on Saturday, April 6, 2019 for the first 10th Anniversary commemorative event - A Health Walk.

There is no cost! Just wear a past PINK WALK T-shirt or any pink shirt.

This will be the first of our health walks before our massive Annual PINK WALK in October.
Read more

Cancer Support Services 23rd Anniversary Concert

23rd Anniversary Concert
Read more

Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados Polo Fundraiser

Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados Polo Fundraiser
Read more

June

CARPHA Health Research Conference - Primary Health Care : Current and Future Models for the Caribbean

CARPHA Conference
Read more
Our Publications
Caribbean Fruit and Vegetable  Infographics
Caribbean Fruit and Vegetable
Infographics


Read more
An Insight into Depression in the Caribbean
An Insight into Depression in the Caribbean Infographic 

Read more
See All HCC Publications
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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 65 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
The work of HCC would not be possible without core funding from Sagicor Life Inc
Sagicor Life Inc.
The HCC promote the work of civil society throughout the Caribbean in a variety of ways including sharing of their materials, this is not an endorsement of their materials or messages. The information contained in this newsletter is for general information purposes only, we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct but any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. Through this newsletter you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of the HCC. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
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