HCC wants CARICOM Heads to address NCDs

The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) has issued a call to CARICOM Heads of Government to reaffirm their collective commitment to addressing the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Caribbean.

Executive Director of the HCC, Maisha Hutton, made the call on behalf of the President, Directors and Members of the HCC, in an open letter to the CARICOM Heads of Government, on account of the recently held 38th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, held from July 4th to 6th in St. George’s, Grenada.

NCDs were a priority area for discussion as Heads celebrated the 10th anniversary of the landmark 2007 Port-of-Spain declaration to stop the epidemic of NCDs.

“In this, the 10th anniversary year of the landmark Port of Spain Declaration (POSD) on NCDs, the members of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), Board of Directors, staff and volunteers call on you, the leadership of the 15-member states and five associate member states of CARICOM, to reaffirm your collective commitment to addressing the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Caribbean,” Hutton noted, adding that the HCC was borne out of the 2007 Port of Spain meeting.

“Fast forward to 2017. NCDs remain the leading cause of mortality and are now responsible for 40% of premature deaths in those under 70 years. They consume national health budgets at a rapid rate, as government efforts are largely focused on secondary and tertiary treatment,” Hutton indicated.

“Diabetes prevalence in our region is twice the global prevalence and our amputation rates are astronomical. Tobacco smoking amongst 13-15 year olds in the Caribbean is the highest in the Americas. Alcohol continues to pose significant challenges with no solution in sight due to lack of political currency. Physical activity levels are low and we have some of the highest rates of adult and childhood obesity in the world. We have lost our food sovereignty as importers of up to 80 per cent of the foods we consume. Our regional food systems are in dire need of restructuring to favour local sustainable production of healthy options and decreased consumption of highly processed energy dense nutrient poor imports.

“Having recently completed HCC’s 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, we have identified three key priorities and we call on you, our region’s leaders to support action across these key areas. Our call for action is supported and echoed by regional partners including PAHO, CARPHA, and CARICOM,” Hutton meanwhile stated.

The first priority areas listed is that of “Childhood Obesity” and a call was made for policies which halt/reverse adult and childhood obesity.

“These include taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages and other unhealthy foods; the banning of the sale and marketing of unhealthy foods in and around schools; the banning of marketing of unhealthy foods to children and adolescents and the regulation for mandatory front of pack labelling of packaged foods,” the HCC said.

The second priority is “Tobacco Control” and a call was made for the implementation of the Articles of the FCTC to which all Caribbean countries are signatories.

The third priority area focused on “Multisectoral Action” and a call was made for greater support at the level of the Head of State for the strengthening and/or establishment of National NCD Commissions or their equivalents to support the multisectoral response to NCDs.