Vincent and the Grenadines will initiate “Hope for the Future” – a significant gathering of key stakeholders in each territory to underscore the need for comprehensive school nutrition policies that regulate the sale and marketing of ultra processed products from school settings and are supported by octagonal front of package warning label to help school communities easily identify foods which should not be available in school settings. This is an essential strategy for building healthy and resilient communities. Notably, nearly 40 youth health advocates are leading the charge across participating countries.

Youth in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago will be hosting related activities to spotlight the issue. These events will serve as a compelling reminder to local and regional leaders of their commitment to implementing health-protecting strategies, including evidence-based healthy food policies. In line with the food and security thematic area of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, youth hope that healthy school nutrition policies will be considered and urgently implemented to ensure healthy school food environments are prioritized.

In February 2024, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) and Healthy Caribbean Youth (HCY) organized “Caribbean Youth Voices in Health Advocacy Spaces – Healthy Food Policy Action,” in partnership with the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN), the Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ), The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados (HSFB), and UNICEF Jamaica. This three-day health policy-focused youth meeting added momentum to the efforts aimed at empowering the region’s youth to advocate for the implementation of Healthy Food Policies, including octagonal front-of-package nutrition warning labeling and restricting the availability and marketing of unhealthy products in school settings. Over 50 young people attended this event.

All children in the Caribbean deserve to learn and grow in healthy school environments that are not inundated with ultraprocessed products. It has been 17 years since the region’s leaders unified their vision for a healthier Caribbean through the Port of Spain Declaration. Now, it is time for them to revisit previous commitments, including healthier school food environments, #actonfacts and walk the talk for better nutrition in schools. They have the support of the region’s youth.
Danielle Walwyn
Advocacy Officer, HCC and Lead, Healthy Caribbean Youth (youth arm of the HCC)

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Guyana is now boasting a significant number of therapists, resulting in several countries being eager to learn about the strategy to do so, according to Director of Disability and Rehabilitation Services, Dr. Ariane Mangar. “People want what we have and they want to also learn how we were able to [achieve] such a remarkable feat ...

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Sunday warned that pharmacies that sell antibiotics without prescriptions would soon be shut down, as Guyana joins the rest of the world in reducing the resistance to antibiotics and other types of prescription drugs. He said the Health Ministry has received reports that a number of pharmacies have been ...

A number of communities in St James and St Thomas will be fogged this week, when the Ministry of Health’s Vector Control Unit conducts its mosquito reduction exercise.

The Unit will concentrate its efforts in St James for the first three days of the week. On Monday, Wanstead Gardens, Husbands Heights, Santa Rosa Drive, Mid-Summer Drive, and Dracaena Avenue will be targeted.

The team will then go into Dairy Meadows Road, John Plains, St John The Baptist Road, and Bamboo Ridge, on Tuesday,.

The following day the Unit will spray Hoytes Village, Cavewood Road, Bagatelle Terrace with Avenues, and Hoytes Terrace. On Thursday, Center Lane, Kew Road, and Redman Village in St Thomas will be visited.

The fogging exercise will conclude on Friday in Welches, Welches Heights, Plum Tree Avenue, Terrace Drive, Padmore Village, and surrounding districts.

Fogging takes place from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. daily. Householders are reminded to open their windows and doors to allow the spray to enter. Children should not be allowed to play in the spray.

Members of the public are advised that the completion of scheduled fogging activities may be affected by events beyond the Unit’s control. In such circumstances, the Unit will return to communities affected in the soonest possible time. (PR)

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The state-owned Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) on Wednesday said security was being beefed up to counter violent attacks on wounded patients while they are receiving treatment at the Accident and Emergency Department, an apparent growing trend across the Caribbean. GPHC Chief Executive Officer, Robbie Rambarran said security guards would be equipped with more handheld ...

The symptoms can be classic respiratory problems, conjunctivitis, or less obvious gastrointestinal issues and the CDC says laboratories are ready to help with testing. Medscape Medical News

The government officially launched its eye-testing and spectacles programme which will benefit thousands of vulnerable individuals on Tuesday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC). The programme will see these individuals accessing financial assistance from the government to get their eyes tested and outfitted with the required spectacles. Individuals under 18 years of age, and ...

St James will be the only parish visited this week when the Ministry of Health and Wellness continues its fogging programme.

On Monday when the team from the Vector Control Unit makes its first stop, Lancaster, Endeavour with Avenues, Apes Hill Development, and environs will be sprayed.

A return to that parish on Tuesday will see fogging at Wanstead Terrace 1 to 11 Avenues, Oxnards, Oxnards Heights, and surrounding areas.

The following day, Wednesday, fogging will occur at Oxnards Heights, Desert Rose Ridge, Wanstead Gardens Heights, Rose Drive, Lily Drive, Alamanda Drive, Carnation Drive, Begonia, Daisy Drive, and environs.

On Thursday the Unit will visit Independence Drive, Trident Avenue, Sugar Cane Avenue, Pelican Avenue, and neighbouring districts.

The exercise culminates on Friday in Blue Bell Drive, Croton Drive, Orchid Drive, and environs.

Fogging of districts will run from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., each day. Householders are asked to assist in the control of the Aedes aegypti mosquito by opening all windows and doors to allow the fog to enter. Persons with respiratory problems are asked to protect themselves from inhaling the fog.

Pedestrians and motorists should proceed with caution when encountering fogging operations on the street and parents are instructed to prohibit children from playing in the fog or running behind the fogging machine.

Members of the public are advised that the completion of scheduled fogging activities may be affected by events beyond the Unit’s control. In such circumstances, the Unit will return to affected communities as soon as possible. (PR)

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On Wednesday June 5, 2024, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) hosted a pivotal discussion-based event, “Ignite Change: Tobacco-Control Efforts in the Caribbean”, focusing on the impact of new and emerging tobacco products on children and youth and tobacco control advocacy efforts. This event gathered key stakeholders across various sectors and was held in recognition of World No Tobacco Day 2024, which highlighted the need to protect young people from tobacco industry interference.

Participants explored the increasing use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS) among Caribbean youth, the aggressive marketing tactics employed by the tobacco industry, and ways to engage youth as advocates in tobacco control efforts.

Discussion Objectives
The objectives of the session were to:

• Discuss concerns with the new and emerging tobacco products in the Caribbean, and the impact on children and youth
• Explore strategies for Caribbean child and youth engagement in tobacco control advocacy
• Highlight and amplify tobacco control advocacy efforts in the Caribbean
• Introduce and expand the newly formed network of key stakeholders interested in sharing and collaborating on tobacco control related efforts in the Caribbean.

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Twenty percent of children in Guyana are living in severe food poverty because they are being fed 0 to 2 food groups per day, according to a just released global report on the subject by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The report titled “Child Food Poverty: Addressing nutrition deprivation in early childhood 2024” explains ...