CARICOM Second Annual Meeting on NCDs set for Trinidad and Tobago

This meeting is convened in the fifth year of the proclamation of the Declaration of Summit of Port-of-Spain – Uniting to stop the Epidemic of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases – issued by CARICOM Heads of Governments on 15 September 2007.

One of the major objectives of this meeting is to discuss the implications of the for the Caribbean of the outcome of the United Nations High Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of NCDs held in New York on September 19-20.

Chief Medical Officers, NCDs focal points and other stakeholders will also examine the progress and challenges in key components of the Declaration and outline priority actions and relevant support necessary to implement those actions. Critical areas that will be examined in light of NCDs include food security, effective intersectoral approaches and surveillance.

The meeting will also focus on the inter-sectoral requirements for a comprehensive NCD policy.

It is anticipated that at the end of the three-day meeting there will be a consensus on the way forward in advancing regional and country plans for preventing and controlling NCDs; confirmed partnerships with key stakeholders in promoting healthy lifestyles and a clear direction on the way forward in advancing the regional NCDs agenda.

The meeting opens officially on Sunday afternoon with a feature address from Dr Ernest Pate, Caribbean Programme Coordinator (PAHO) and remarks from Dr Rudolph Cummings, Programme Manager, Health Sector Development, CARICOM Secretariat; Prof. Paul Teelucksingh, University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus; Prof. Samuel Ramsewak, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, UWI, St Augustine and Dr Anton Cumberbatch, CMO, Trinidad and Tobago.