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Project

Evaluating CARICOM's Political Commitments for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Control
 

West Indies
Project ID
107604
Total Funding
CAD 949,800.00
IDRC Officer
Zee Leung
Project Status
Completed
End Date
Duration
36 months

Lead institution(s)

Project leader:
Dr. Thelma Alafia Samuels
Barbados

Summary

This project will evaluate progress on the issue of non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention and control in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) against political commitments.Read more

This project will evaluate progress on the issue of non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention and control in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) against political commitments. The impact of NCDs in the Caribbean Over the past 50 years, Caribbean countries have experienced an epidemiological transition from infectious to non-communicable diseases. The high burden of NCDs is now a major cause of premature mortality and morbidity among the most productive sectors of the population, which include adults younger than 70. Steps to address the challenge CARICOM heads of government held their first summit on NCD prevention and control in September 2007 in Port of Spain (POS), Trinidad and Tobago. The Summit issued the POS Declaration: Uniting to Stop the Epidemic of NCDs. While some successes have been reported, many aspects of the declaration have seen little progress. This is especially true for commitments requiring multi-sector or regional action. Evaluating progress to improve implementation The goal of this project is to evaluate the implementation of the POS Declaration to draw lessons that will support its further implementation. CARICOM governments have asked that this work be undertaken. They are also providing support. The study will assess the impact of the declaration on national and regional policies. It will also examine its influence on NCD risk factors and outcomes, and seek to understand what has worked well, what has not, and why. Project objectives Through this project, researchers will: -determine and describe the extent to which the 27 POS commitments have been implemented; -track trends in NCD mortality and risk factors from 2000 to 2013; -undertake in-depth case studies in seven countries and territories. -determine what evidence exists on the impact of the implementation on risk factors and health outcomes; and -estimate the potential for revenue generation for NCD prevention and control from taxes on tobacco and alcohol.