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Prime Minister Freundel Stuart (FP)

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Prime Minister Freundel Stuart will lead a delegation to a High-Level Meeting on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in New York from September 19 to 20. ????Other members of the delegation will include Minister of Health, Donville Inniss, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Joy St. John, and Special Envoy for Non-Communicable Diseases, Professor Trevor Hassell.??

The summit is expected to address some of the underlying factors driving the prevalence of NCDs, such as tobacco use, alcohol abuse and a lack of exercise and proper diet. It is expected that the meeting will create or reinforce awareness in the highest level of governments around the world and draw attention to the magnitude of the problem.

Against this background, Mr. Inniss explained: "Come September 19, Barbados will start a Health of the Nation Study and we [the Ministry of Health] have partnered with the Barbados National Registry to do this". He added that the study will entail going into communities and collecting information in terms of their health situations, challenges and cost.

According to the Health Minister: "Once this information is completed, we will then be in a better position to evaluate the success of our interventions over the last two or three years and at the same time point us in the right direction." He further noted that it would be costly, but stated that "at the end of the day, we know that the decisions we make will be decisions that are informed and are sustainable in taking us forward in terms of our health agenda."

alyson.holder@barbados.gov.bb

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