CARIBBEAN Community (CARICOM) officials met yesterday in Guyana – ahead of the fifth joint meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD).
Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador, Dr. Clarence Henry, was quoted as saying by the Jamaica Observer, that the meeting will be focused a number of pertinent issues related to the well-being of the 15-member grouping “in particular, the scourge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the challenge of addressing childhood obesity, unbalanced nutrition, and the harmful use of alcohol.”
He said among the priorities identified was the implementation of measures geared towards preventing childhood obesity, including health-promoting school environments and Front of Package (FoP) labelling.
Last November, COTED, in considering the Report of the Strategic Working Group on Beverage Alcoholic Products, agreed that member states would review and respond to the recommendations in that report, including those pertaining to health concerns arising from the harmful use of alcoholic beverage products.
