NCD Child is committed to engage with all regions of the world through advocacy, capacity building and collaborative action to promote a life-course approach to the prevention and management of NCDs. In the future, NCD Child aims to have partners in all regions of the world. In each region, NCD Child will aspire to collaborate with member states (countries), international organisations, non-governmental organisations, academic and research institutions, professional associations and the private sector to advocate for the rights and needs of children, adolescents and youth living with or at risk of developing NCDs and where possible promote the integration of NCD Child recommendations within national and global NCD plans.

 

While the conference will explore 5 key themes, the following cross-cutting issues will inform all discussions and outcomes:

• Maintain focus on four risk factors and prevention and four sets of NCDs as per UN HLM
  
  
• Add a focus on mental health and injuries/accidents – preliminary ideas to see what kind of currency they gain, how receptive NCD Child’s constituents are to these issues
  
  
• Fully integrate the perspective of adolescents and youth throughout – participating equally/in parallel
  
  
• Health system strengthening
  
  
• Linking with existing platforms
  
  
• Sustainability and scalability
  
  
• Multi‐sectoral engagement
  
  
• Addressing the social determinants of health

The 2014 NCD Child conference aims to create a platform for interaction, knowledge exchange, and a priority focus on the needs of children and adolescents within the context NCD action and the post 2015 agenda and MDG review. It will also provide an opportunity to establish and strengthen regional partnerships within the Caribbean – an important first step towards building NCD Child’s capacity as an independent global coalition to strengthen regional engagement more effectively in future.

 

A regional conference can serve to create a platform for members to communicate and partner with a wide range of stakeholders on initiatives to advance the NCD health agenda, including UN agencies and other multilaterals, civil society, private sector and other NCD Child partners. By building a platform for technical expertise and networking opportunities, this conference will build the capacity of NCD Child to connect more effectively with international communities and learn from their successes. In addition, it will help NCD Child identify and understand innovative, lateral ways of communicating and disseminating key messages, especially in LMICs.    

The Caribbean has been chosen as an initial regional area of partnership given the overt priority the region has placed on addressing NCDs, their focus on young people and the strong partnership that NCD Child has already enjoyed with PAHO and Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC). In 2007, CARICOM made an official declaration to “Unite to Stop the Epidemic of Chronic Diseases” (Declaration of Port of Spain, 2007). The declaration states a commitment to “implement strategies to prevent and control heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cancer in the Region by addressing their causal risk factors of unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use and alcohol abuse and strengthening our health services”. NCD Child finds that the CARICOM declaration and the actions within the region, since then, have multiple synergies with the work of NCD Child. CARICOM recognizes that “the burdens of NCDs can be reduced by comprehensive and integrated preventive and control strategies at the individual, family, community, national and regional levels and through collaborative programmes, partnerships and policies supported by governments, private sectors, NGOs and our other social, regional and international partners”. To this end, NCD Child believes that the Caribbean is a strategic region to collaborate with, in the first instance.

 

1. Stock take: Analysis of priority issues and progress made since the 2007 Port of Spain Declaratio on NCDs and the 2011 UNHLM Political Declaration on NCDs. Focus on multi-sectoral stakeholder mapping to establish key child and adolescent groups working in the Caribbean region, with specific reference to the proposed global NCD targets and indicators.
   
   
2. Showcase: Examine best practices in NCD prevention and management for replication
   
   
3. Strategize: Review and chart the roadmap for governments and organizations to prioritize children and adolescents within the NCD agenda with a life-course and multi-sector approach. Also consider organizational development aspects of NCD Child Coalition and most cost-effective strategies for ongoing efforts.
   
   
4. Develop Resource Tool: Review and make recommendations on the draft NCD chapter and existing chapters of the UN “Facts for Life” publication