Barbados raises mandate for action on NCDs

The Permanent Mission of Barbados to the Organisation of American States (OAS) is leading the process to secure an ambitious political mandate for the response to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Americas.

At a joint session of the OAS Permanent Council and the Inter-American Council for Integral Development, which was convened in Washington, on March 19, at the request of the Permanent Mission of Barbados, the attendees examined presentations by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) on the increasing social and economic burden of NCDs on countries in the hemisphere.

Chairman of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, Sir Trevor Hassell, also briefed Member States on the extent and impact of NCDs in the Caribbean.  He submitted that the sub-region was disproportionately impacted by the diseases.

In his statement to the joint session, Barbados’ Permanent Representative to the OAS, Ambassador Selwin Hart in describing the economic impact of NCDs reasoned that significant resources were being directed towards costly secondary and tertiary treatment for the epidemic.

Read more at: Barbados Government Information Service