COUNTRIES IN THE region have been urged to step up their efforts at tackling non-communicable diseases.
Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Dr Carissa Etienne, lamented that the momentum that came after the Port of Spain Declaration of September 2007 waned
Speaking yesterday on the second and final day of the Forum of Key Stakeholders on NCDs themed Advancing the NCD Agenda in the Caribbean at Hilton Barbados, she said that meeting was aimed at getting the countries back on course.
“We are not doing well; we must do better now,” she said.
Etienne lamented the fact that in the Caribbean there was no proper monitoring of the targets countries were working to.
“We learnt that if we continue with business as usual the Caribbean will not meet the target of 25 per cent reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2025.”
The forum brought together health leaders from across the Caribbean and representatives of the United Nations agencies.
Dr Anselm Hennis, director of the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health with PAHO/WHO, said in the Caribbean there was a lack of data, which made monitoring the trends and progress of the NCDs difficult.
“At least half of the countries of the region are not able to report on at least 50 per cent of the indicators of the global monitoring framework,” Hennis said. (LK)
