Creating healthier food environments to combat noncommunicable disease in the Caribbean

Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is committed to supporting the development of evidence, innovation, and policies to build healthier food systems, enable healthy and sustainable diets, and prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The need and opportunity to do so has been great in the small island nations and communities of the Caribbean where political commitment and leadership have enabled both local action and influence of high-level, global dialogue to address the NCD epidemic. [...]

The 2007 CARICOM Port-of-Spain Declaration on noncommunicable diseases: an overview of a multidisciplinary evaluation

Objectives

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a threat to social and economic development, including in the Caribbean. In 2007 the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held the world’s firstever summit of heads of government on NCD prevention and control and issued the landmark Declaration of Port-of-Spain: Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of Chronic NCDs. The objectives of this paper are to provide an overview of a formal evaluation of the Declaration and to highlight key findings that could inform further implementation of the Declaration’s 15 mandates.

Validating the self-reported annual monitoring grid for the 2007 Caribbean Community Declaration of Port-of-Spain on noncommunicable diseases

Objectives

In 2007, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) convened the world’s first-ever heads of government summit on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and issued the landmark Declaration of Port-of-Spain: Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of Chronic NCDs. Since then, ministry of health (MoH) focal points in each country have self-reported annually on their NCD efforts, using a 26-indicator grid created to assess implementation of the Declaration. Our objective was to assess the validity of those grid responses, as compared to information from in-depth interviews and document reviews.

An updated systematic review and meta-analysis on the social determinants of diabetes and related risk factors in the Caribbean

 

Objectives

To conduct an analysis of the most recent data on diabetes and its risk factors by gender and other social determinants of health to understand why its prevalence is higher among women than men in the Caribbean; to inform policy agenda-setting for diabetes prevention and control in the Caribbean; and to identify gaps in the evidence that require further research.

Premature mortality from cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the Caribbean and associations with health care expenditure, 2001 – 2011

 

Objective

To examine the historical trends of premature death due to cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus (CVD-DM) in the Caribbean and to identify any associations between these trends and health care expenditure.

Evaluating policy responses to noncommunicable diseases in seven Caribbean countries: challenges to addressing unhealthy diets and physical inactivity

 

Objective

To identify, assess, and compare existing policies on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the Caribbean, gaps in policy responses, and the factors influencing successful policy development and implementation following the Port of Spain Declaration of 2007. Specifically, to examine policies that target the upstream determinants of two NCD risk factors—unhealthy diets and physical inactivity.

Regulatory measures to fight obesity in Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean and Pacific 2015-2017

This report examines the experiences of Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean—Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, and in the Pacific— Fiji, Nauru, and Tonga with specific governmental regulatory measures to reduce the risk of obesity and associated diet-related chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), as well as the obstacles and opportunities encountered.

The potential for using alcohol and tobacco taxes to fund prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in Caribbean Community countries

Objectives

To determine the extent to which increased taxes on alcohol and tobacco products in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries might successfully reduce consumption of those products and raise revenues, which could then be channeled into noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention and control initiatives. Methods. The Tobacco Tax Simulation (TaXSiM) model, which was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), was used to simulate the impact of tax changes on alcohol and tobacco products in three CARICOM member countries.

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