As outgoing Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government, it gives me great pleasure to wish the people of the Caribbean Community a blessed and peaceful Christmas.

During our celebration of this season of goodwill, let us, as a Community, reflect on our achievements over the year that is fast ending, a reflection that will no doubt be coloured by the challenges spawned by the current period of global uncertainties.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque deemed the Surinamese Youth programmes as a regional Best Practice.

On the second day of his official visit to Suriname, the Secretary-General was brought up to date on the activities and plans of Surinamese youth and was particularly impressed by the exciting programmes outlined to him by the CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYA) at a meeting in Paramaribo on Tuesday 13 December.

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Dr Ernest Pate, PAHO Caribbean Programme Coordinator has asserted that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) must be more data driven in the prevention and treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

He also called upon CARICOM Heads of Government to “move” their commitment from principle to practice, noting that adequate resources were an imperative to fighting NCDs.