Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Dominica Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit said Wednesday that the issue of health was of major concern to CARICOM Heads, particularly as it related to non-Communicable Diseases.

The CARICOM Chairman was speaking at a press conference at the conclusion of the Thirty-Seventh Regular Meeting of the Conference of the CARICOM Heads of Government held in Guyana July 4-6, 2016.

Prime Minister Skerrit said the level of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) remained a disturbing factor even as the tenth anniversary of the historic Declaration of Uniting to fight the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) drew near.  He highlighted some areas on which the Heads agreed to take action.

We have agreed to address issues such as the banning of smoking in public places; trade related measures, banning advertisement of potentially harmful foods which specifically target children; and elevating taxes on foods high in sugar, salt and trans-fats,” he said.

The CARICOM Chairman further disclosed that the Heads of Government endorsed an initiative called Every Caribbean Girl, Every Caribbean Woman (ECGECW ) intended to address key Sexual and Reproductive Health concerns of girls and women in the Caribbean. He said that the objectives of ECGECW were to reduce teenage pregnancy, prevent cervical cancer, and eliminate Mother to Child Transmission of HIV. He said that advocacy efforts needed to be increased in order to ensure that the level of support needed to end the AIDS epidemic in the Region was maintained.