It’s now become common knowledge that the Caribbean region has a major public health crisis in terms of growing rates of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Many used to think that those disease were afflictions of primarily high-income countries.

As rates have skyrocketed in lower- and middle-income countries, we may need new ideas, new models, new theories to fully tackle these diseases. Thus, the next five years are critical in terms of what how the Caribbean deals with these long-standing and emerging health issues.

It is within this context that the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) released its 2017-2021 Strategic Plan. The strategic plan has five pillars: accountability, advocacy, capacity development, communication, and sustainability. The strategic plan guides the organization forward, as it has become a leader in the Caribbean public health sphere.

I am really impressed with the work that’s been going on at the HCC. They are working towards a healthy Caribbean by raising awareness of the role and effects of non-communicable diseases, and advocating for Caribbean-based solutions to public health issues.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll write a series of posts on the strategic plan’s pillars. Share your thoughts on the plan with us at our Facebook page.

And, if you haven’t already done so, definitely review the strategic plan at: http://www.healthycaribbean.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/HCC-Strategic-Plan_WEB.pdf

 

About the author

Diane B. Francis, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University. Diane’s key research interests are centered in health communication, especially how to utilize traditional and new media for health promotion and disease prevention among diverse communities. A native of the Commonwealth of Dominica, she has a particular interest in promoting healthy behavioral changes among Caribbean individuals and communities, including Caribbean immigrants in the United States.

Note: These are my those of the author and not that of her institution.