Last week Nutritionists and dieticians agreed that they need to change the way in which they operate, given the focussing of the Caribbean Health Sector on the need to ensure ” Value for Money” and the adoption of the generic standards (ISO 9000), established by the International Standards Organisation (ISO).
This took place at the Twenty-fifth Meeting of the Caribbean Association of Nutritionists and Dieticians (CANDI), held in Trinidad and Tobago from June 22-26, 1997.
In keeping with the difficult task which Nutritionists and Dieticians have of ensuring quality in the promotion and implementation of food and nutrition services at the households and national levels in an era of decreasing resources, the theme of their Conference was ” Challenging Avenues for Nutritionists and Dieticians: A Time for Action “
Participants were charged by the various presenters to broaden their expertise in the area of business planning and increase their interaction with policy makers and the private sector.
Officials at the Meeting agreed to refocus their efforts on the effective delivery of nutrition messages to the Community, which are culturally appropriate. They also acknowledged the increased capacity of the University of the West Indies to train Food and Nutrition students through their new programme ” Human Ecology”
The participants at the Meeting stressed that the people of the Caribbean must take responsibility for their nutrition needs by adopting healthy lifestyles and making smart food choices. It was agreed that the media and agriculture sector could act as great effectors of change.
To help the people of the Region make healthy choices in their way of food intake a book with recipes and nutrition facts titled Caribbean Guide to Healthy Eating will soon be published by the Caribbean Association of Nutritionists and Dieticians and the Dieticians of Canada (D.C.).
The Nutritionists and Dieticians also discussed the improvement of nutritional care and new approaches to the nutritional management of Diabetes in the Caribbean Community and other health care facilities.
