The incidence of Chronic Non Communicable Diseases (CNCDs) in Barbados and the factors contributing to them can now be documented.

That is because the Ministry of Health, in conjunction with the University of the West Indies, has officially launched a CNCD registry, described as the first of its kind in the Eastern Caribbean.

Speaking at the signing ceremony for the establishment of the new entity, Health Minister, Jerome Walcott, said: “Barbados is charting a new course for the management of CNCDs in the Caribbean and possibly in the Americas. By documenting the incidence, natural history and outcomes of cases of CNCDs, we will be able to more effectively plan policies and programmes based on evidence.”

Mr. Walcott stressed that “for too long there has been a concern about the lack of sufficient data and information to guide financial, human resource and social policies,” and explained that the conditions, which would comprise the core work of the registry, would be: cardio vascular disease, stroke, and cancer; three of the five leading causes of sickness and mortality among adult Barbadians.

Meanwhile, Principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Professor Hilary Beckles said the University was honored to partner with the Ministry of Health in the initiative”.

He described UWI’s Chronic Disease Research Centre, responsible for the running of the registry, as a centre of excellence and stressed the University’s commitment to “deepening the culture of research in Barbados”.

The CNCD registry will receive BDS $2 million over the next four years and will be bound by appropriate policies to ensure data confidentiality, data protection and ethical guidelines governing data use.

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