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Category: Blog

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SSB TaxYou're Sweet Enough
June 9, 2022

Tackling NCDs through SSB Taxation

Facing the NCD Epidemic in St Kitts and Nevis

In St. Kitts and Nevis, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death among residents. According to the latest data published by the St. Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Health, 63% of all deaths are prematurely caused by a preventable chronic illness such as stroke, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

The prevalence of NCDs in the federation is a major concern for individuals, families, civil society and government because NCDs threaten quality of life, productivity and sustainable development. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global NCD Alliance recognise non-communicable diseases as the world’s number one killer.

Globally, St. Kitts and Nevis has one of the highest prevalence rates of diabetes per capita (24%). Poor diet, physical inactivity, overweight and obesity are some of the risk factors for NCDs that are prevalent among our adults and children. Health data indicate that 1 in 2 adults and 1 in 3 children in St. Kitts and Nevis are overweight or obese, and the consumption of unhealthy products like sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is at an all-time high with 62% of school-aged children drinking at least one SSB every day (Global High School Survey, 2011).

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The Dangers of SSB Consumption

The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is of particular concern since some have no nutritional value and exceed recommended daily amounts of sugar for proper health and wellbeing.  Regular consumption of SSBs is a major contributor to the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes, tooth decay and cardiovascular illnesses. Research conducted by Harvard Medical School experts reveals an association between a high-sugar diet and a greater risk of dying from heart disease since consuming too much added sugar can raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, both of which are pathological pathways to heart disease.

The scientific and medical evidence on the dangers of sugar for individuals’ health and wellness is alarming. Consuming too much sugar, especially from SSBs, can be deadly and must be better monitored and controlled. Curtailing SSB consumption and promoting water as the healthy alternative is a primary approach to improving food culture and combatting the NCD epidemic.  

The Solution: Government Policy Interventions

Across the world, individuals, civil society organisations (CSOs), medical professionals and governments have been advocating for and implementing solutions that help to reduce the risk factors associated with NCDs. Public education on healthy food and nutrition, accessible health screening programmes and the promotion of increased physical activity are all necessary inputs for combatting the global NCD problem.

However, addressing the problem also requires that governments take responsibility by using public policy to create healthy food environments and to help consumers make healthier choices. The WHO recommends implementing a suite of health policies that include SSB taxation and octagonal front-of-pack warning labels as evidence-based interventions that reduce the purchase and consumption of SSBs. Health advocates also call on government to implement school nutrition policies that restrict the sale and marketing of SSBs in and around schools to create and promote healthy school environments for our children. Public support for health policies like these is important for inciting government action; as data show, there is need for change in our food consumption and nutrition environments and the time to act is now more than ever.

By admin
MeetTheWillbutsCover
BlogYou're Sweet Enough
May 16, 2022

Our SSB Animation Gets a Special Mention from WHO

On Friday 13th May 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO), hosted its award ceremony for its third Health for All Film Festival.

The WHO Health for All Film Festival is held annually to demonstrate how creative media is being mobilised for health promotion and education. The festival invites submissions from patients, health workers, health activists, NGOs, public institutions and professional filmmakers of short films on a wide range of health-related topics. This year, films covered a range of topics including the trauma of war, living with COVID-19, women’s health and non-communicable diseases.

We entered our short animation, Meet the Willbuts, into the film festival and in March it was announced that we were shortlisted under the very short film category for conveying messages about NCDs and the need for families to improve their diets for better health outcomes. We were beyond excited and in the run-up to the awards ceremony to announce the winners, we launched a mini social media campaign highlighting the key messages of the animation.

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by Lake Health and Wellbeing (@lakehealthwellbeing)

Then, on 13th May we settled down to watch the awards ceremony and were so delighted to have received a special mention during the ceremony which you can watch below. We would like to thank WHO for their recognition of our short film and hope that this exposure will lead to the animation’s important health message reaching more people.

We would also like to congratulate the winner in our category, “Glamming my Wounds” by Terry Adhiambo Ombaka (Kenya) which focused on gender-based violence.

Other winners included:

Universal Health Coverage “GRAND PRIX”:
“Pre-eclampsia: Predict Earlier, Prevent Earlier”  – Indonesia / Maternal health / Documentary – Duration 7’53’’ / Submitted and directed by Indonesian Prenatal Institute

Health Emergencies “GRAND PRIX”:
“Intensive” – United Kingdom / COVID-19 severe case / Animation – Duration 7’26’’ / Submitted and directed by Oliver John Pratt (United Kingdom)

Better Health and Well-being “GRAND PRIX”:
“Euphoric”  – India / Female Genital Mutilation / Artistic creation based on testimony – Duration 4’35’’ / Submitted and directed by Nirmala Choudhary and Roopali Ramesh Kumar (India)

SPECIAL PRIZE Rehabilitation Film:
“Sim-Patia” – Spain – Italy / Brain injury / Animation – Duration 2’42’’ / Submitted and directed by Carlos Gómez-Mira Sagrado and Rossana Giacomelli

SPECIAL PRIZE Health Innovation film:
“For Every Girl, a Forest”  – India / Gender equity / Documentary – Duration 6’24’’ / Submitted and directed by Jose Corbella (Argentina)

STUDENT FILM PRIZE:
“Improving Lives in Three Dimensions: 3D-Printed Prostheses” – Sierra Leone / Disability / Documentary – Duration 5’03’’
Submitted and directed by Merel van der Stelt (The Netherlands)

Films receiving a special mention included:

UHC Special Mention:
“The 5% : A Family’s Perspective on Complex Clubfoot”  – Brazil / Disability / Documentary – Duration 5’40’’ / Submitted by MiracleFeet and directed by Rachel Vianna (Brazil)

Health Emergencies Special Mention: 

“I was just a child”  – Philippines / Natural disasters / Animation – Duration 5’06’’ / Submitted and directed by Breech Asher Harani (Philippines)

Better Health and Well-being Special Mention:
“Autism in China: The Challenges Parents Face Raising Children of the Stars”  – China / Documentary – Duration 8’28’’  / Submitted and directed by Andersen Weicong Xia (China)

Rehabilitation Special Mention:
“Move, Dance, Feel”  – United Kingdom / Cancer and artistic dancing to support treatment / Documentary – Duration 4’58’’  / Submitted and directed by Emily Jenkins and Move Dance Feel (United Kingdom)

Health Innovation Special Mention: 

“Malakit”  – Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname / Malaria – Access to diagnosis and care in remote areas / Documentary – Duration 8’54’’ / Submitted and directed by Maylis Douine (French Guiana)

 Very Short Films Special Mention:

“Meet the Willbuts”  – Saint Kitts and Nevis / NCDs prevention / Animation – Duration 1’23’’ / Submitted and directed by Oyehmi Begho and Lake Health and Wellbeing (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

By admin
MiaMottley
BlogDiet
May 9, 2022

Barbados Increases their SSB Tax

In 2015, Barbados was one of the first countries in the world to introduce a tax on sweetened beverages (SBs). This measure was introduced as part of the country’s strategy to tackle the  high rate of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Specifically, this tax aimed to encourage healthier consumption patterns by creating a financial deterrent to the purchase of sweetened beverages which would then nudge consumers to select healthier beverages. Furthermore, an additional benefit of the tax was the projection that it would raise in excess of $BB10 million and thus contribute positively to the economy.

The Health-Harms of SBs

Across the world, sugar-sweetened beverages have been the target of NCD prevention and control strategies and this is because of the growing body of evidence linking SBs to overweight, obesity and the development of NCDs. Research has shown that consuming one serving of an SB per day is linked to a 13% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and a 39% increase in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease4. Additionally, frequent consumption is associated with a 9% increase in cardiovascular disease risk and a two-fold increased risk of developing gout, and finally, studies have linked the overconsumption of SBs to an increased risk of developing some cancers4.

The Impact of Barbados' SB Tax

In order to protect the public from the health-harms of SBs, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), recommend that governments implement a range of SBs policies, and this includes a tax of at least 20% on SBs.  This rate of tax is being recommended by health authorities because an SB tax needs to be high enough to act as an effective deterrent to the purchase of all SBs and 20% has been found to be sufficiently high enough to ensure a significant reduction in purchases.

At 10%, Barbados’ SSB tax was below the recommended rate and in March 2022, the Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon Mia Mottley announced that from 1st April 2022 the SB tax will be raised to 20%. This was in recognition of the fact that more could be achieved with respect to promoting healthier drinking habits if the tax rate was in line with best practices.   

Despite the low rate of tax in Barbados, research has shown some positive outcomes with regard to consumer behaviour. For example, since the introduction of the tax, there has been a 4% decrease in the sales of SBs and a 3.6% decrease in the purchase of carbonated SBs1. Additionally, there was a 5.2% increase in non-SBs sales and a 7.5% increase in bottled water sales1. There was some evidence of consumers switching to cheaper SBs; transitioning to the higher rate of 20% could tackle this issue.

Recently, in October 2018, another Caribbean country, Bermuda, joined Barbados and introduced a 50%   tax on sugary soft drinks, candies and pure-sugar imports which was increased to 75% in 2019 and was expanded to include food products with cocoa.  In a study conducted by Imperial College, 48% of Bermudians reported consuming fewer taxed products and the revenue raised between 1st October 2018 and 1st December 2019 was $5.4M2. This revenue was used for health and wellness initiatives such as exercise promotion, free health screening and subsidising fruits and vegetables2,3.

 

Conclusion

The increase in Barbados’ SB tax is a good step towards transforming consumer behaviour and promoting healthier drinking habits. It is anticipated that the increase in taxation will lead to a further reduction in the public’s SB consumption thereby reducing the public’s exposure to added sugar leading to a reduction in calorie intake and a reduction in NCD risk.

Since 2015, more countries around the world have introduced SB taxation as part of their NCD prevention and control strategies with over 50 countries now utilising this fiscal measure. This demonstrates the concern that countries have with the consumption of SBs and pairing this policy with other policies such as front-of-package warning labels and restricting the sale and marketing of SBs will contribute to eliminating a key risk factor for NCDs and thus improve the health of the public.

Over here in St. Kitts and Nevis, the Ministry of Health is working towards the implementation of their SB policy this year. We are in support of the Ministry’s policy and encourage Cabinet to approve this policy when it is presented to them so that concrete and effective steps can be taken to promote healthier drinking habits.

References
  1. Alvarado, M., Unwin, N., Sharp, S.J. et al.Assessing the impact of the Barbados sugar-sweetened beverage tax on beverage sales: an observational study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 16, 13 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-019-0776-7
  1. Bell, J. Sugar Tax Raises $5.4M. The Royal Gazette. 3rd February 2020.
  1. Kelsey K CASE, Elisa PINEDA, Jack OLNEY et al. The ‘sugar tax’ in Bermuda: a qualitative study of general population and key stakeholder perceptions, 21 April 2022, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square [https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1487094/v1]
  1. Malik, V.S., Hu, F.B. The role of sugar-sweetened beverages in the global epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases. Nat Rev Endocrinol18, 205–218 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-021-00627-6
  1. Sinckler C. Presentation of the Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals 2015 [Internet]. 2015 Jun [cited 2017 May 25]. Available from: https://www.barbadosparliament.com/uploads/document/d1efb84aac6a7abe4c6c0efcf8ceedd2.pdf
By admin
LawAndHealthPolicyWebinarFinal (Web)
BlogHealth Policy
April 18, 2022

The Role of Lawyers in the Prevention and Control of NCDs

When it comes to the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), we may not immediately think that lawyers have a role to play, but to ensure an effective NCD response, lawyers are a very important actor in tackling this public health issue.  

The role of lawyers involves using the law as an instrument to facilitate the implementation of an equitable NCD strategy. This is achieved through the development of health-related legislation, treaties and statutes as well as advising on the legalities of Government policy.

One of the core principles of the legal aspect of an NCD response is upholding the public’s right to health.

Health As A Human Right

The World Health Organisation defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” and with this definition in mind, the WHO declares in its constitution that everyone should have “the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”  and that this right “is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.”

Furthermore, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25 states that:

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

Taken together, these statements mean that we all have the right to achieve the best health possible and we also have the right to access nutritious food, clothing and other such elements to achieve good health.

In furthering the conversation about the right to health, the ‘UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health on the adoption of front-of-package warning labelling to tackle NCDs’, explained that when it comes to the right to health, States have a legal obligation to respect, protect and fulfil. This is the basis of human rights law and can be applied to health in the following ways, as described by CESCR General Comment No. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health (Art. 12)

  1. Respect – requires States to refrain from interfering directly or indirectly with the enjoyment of the right to health
  2. Protect – requires that States to prevent third parties from interfering with a person’s right to health
  3. Fulfil -requires States to adopt appropriate legislative, administrative, budgetary, judicial, promotional and other measures towards the full realisation of the right to health.

Taking into account the right to health,  one of the roles of lawyers in the NCD response is to ensure that the State fulfils their above-mentioned obligations through equitable legislation and policies.

NCD Risk Factors, the Food Environment and Human Rights

In order to implement an effective NCD strategy, one important aspect of the strategy is the prevention of NCDs and most responses focus on the key modifiable risk facts of physical inactivity, an unhealthy diet, tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol and air pollution. This means that countries have and continue to develop laws and policies that address these risk factors.  

NCDs and their Modifiable Risk Factors (Image credit: NCD Alliance)

Through our You’re Sweet Enough campaign, we have been focusing on one of these risk factors, an unhealthy diet.  The reason for focusing on this risk factor is to address the concerning state of our food environment; we live in a very unhealthy and obesogenic food environment. This is an environment where unhealthy food is more accessible than healthy options and, furthermore, the pervasive marketing of unhealthy foods is dictating the choices that the public makes. This means that our food system is promoting unhealthy weight gain through the removal of choice and through psychological conditioning of consumers – this is a violation of the right to health, but also is a violation of a number of human rights including:

  • The right to information: many foods lack enough information or understandable information about their nutritional content, and therefore the public is unable to make an informed choice about the foods they purchase
  • Right to food: the current food environment where unhealthy food is easily accessible means that the public doesn’t have easy access to real, nutritious food
  • Right to life: the lack of access to information and food, means that the public is being deprived of the nutritious food that is required to sustain their lives
  • Right to scientific progress – researchers have now proved the link between unhealthy foods and NCDs, but industry interference, marketing and manipulation has meant that this evidence is not always reaching the consumer or has taken many years to reach the consumer
  • Children’s rights –  The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that “Children have the right to the best health care possible, clean water to drink, healthy food and a clean and safe environment to live in.”

Lawyers, therefore, must assist the State in developing laws and policies that reverse the obesogenic environment and create a healthy food environment where we can all thrive. 

NCD Policies and Laws

Our You’re Sweet Enough project focuses on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs)  and this is because of their high sugar content.  The consumption and overconsumption of SSBs  has been linked to the development of obesity and other NCDs such as type two diabetes and some cancers. As a result of this we have be advocating for Government policies and laws to create a healthy drinking environment. These policies are evidence-based and have been recommended by the World Health Organisation as part of their ‘Best buys’ for the prevention and control of NCDs. These policies include:

  • Front of package warning labels on SSBs to provide consumers with a quick and easy way of identifying beverages that are high in sugar
  • The restriction of the sale and marketing of SSBs to children
  • The introduction of an excise tax of at least 20% on SSBs to reduce the purchase and consumption of these products

Currently, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is developing an SSB policy and lawyers can play an instrumental role in the development of this policy by ensuring that these policies are not only effective at preventing and controlling NCDs, but are fair, equitable and protect human rights. Additionally, they must ensure that the policies and legislation are legally sound and can stand up to the interference from the food and beverage industry which in other countries has sought to block or reverse evidence-based healthy food policies.

Building the Capacity of Lawyers

As part of our work to ensure that lawyers are equipped to contribute to the NCD response, we teamed up with the Ministry of Health and the Law and Health Research Unit at the University of the West Indies to host a webinar on the role of law in public health policy. This webinar focused on tobacco control and SSBs and sought to provide lawyers in St Kitts and Nevis with guidance on how they can support the development of tobacco control and SSB policies. Speakers included:

  • Dr Marissa Carty, the NCD Programme Coordinator at the Ministry of Health in St Kitts and Nevis
  • Nicole Foster, Deputy Dean and Head, Health and Law Research Unity at the University of the West Indies

Welcome remarks were provided by Mr Garth Wilkin, the President of the Bar Association and closing remarks were delivered by Rhonda Nisbett-Browne, Member of the Bar Association

This was a very informative session and we would like to thank Dr Marissa Carty and Nicole Foster for their excellent presentations, the Bar Association for partnering with us and all the lawyers who attended.  A recording of the event is below.

Conclusion

Lawyers have a very important role to play in preventing and controlling NCDs. They ensure that the State fulfils its human rights obligations of securing everyone’s right to health by supporting the development of equitable legislation and policies.

Sources
  1. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Word Health Organisation (2008). Right to Health. Factsheet No. 31, June 2008
  2. UN (1946). Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  3. UN (1989). Convention of the Rights of the Child
  4. UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), General Comment No. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health (Art. 12 of the Covenant), 11 August 2000, E/C.12/2000/4, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4538838d0.html  [accessed 16 April 2022]
  5. World Health Organization. (‎2017)‎. Tackling NCDs: ‘best buys’ and other recommended interventions for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases. World Health Organization.https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/259232. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
By admin
CSO Health Advocacy Workshop Flyer 2022
BlogYou're Sweet Enough
April 5, 2022

Strengthening Civil Society’s Role in Health Advocacy

The World Bank describes civil society as “the wide array of non-governmental and not for profit organizations that have a presence in public life, express the interests and values of their members and others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations.”

The Role and Impact of Civil Society

Based on this definition, civil society organisations (CSOs) play an important role in ensuring that Governments and the private sector act in the best interest of the public and this involves advocating for policies and actions that benefit society.

In public health, civil society organisations from across the world have a long history of successfully advocating on behalf of patients for better care and treatment, and to reduce health inequalities. For example, Cancer Research UK and other cancer charities in the UK have consistently advocated for improvements to the cancer diagnosis pathway leading to a more streamlined and structured pathway that aims to reduce delays in diagnosis and thus reduce cancer mortality.

Additionally, CSOs have fought for the introduction of policies that have improved the health of the public and prevented and controlled diseases.  For example, the tobacco control policies that have been implemented throughout the world leading to a reduction in the public’s exposure to tobacco and second-hand smoke leading to reduced rates of tobacco-related illnesses. 

Civil Society in Small Island Developing States

In countries such as the UK and US, the CSO environment is a very strong and cohesive one with a variety of organisations advocating for change, having a positive influence on the development and implementation of effective health policies, forming strategic alliances to bring about change and implementing effective advocacy campaigns.  Conversely, in many countries, such as here in the Caribbean region, CSOs, because of the small size of our countries and lack of resources, face many challenges when advocating for change and this leaves the public, patients and vulnerable communities without organisations who can effectively advocate on their behalf or hold Governments and the private sector accountable.

Building a Strong Civil Society Sector

With this in mind, we have started a series of capacity-building webinars aimed at CSOs in St Kitts and Nevis with the aim of strengthening the sector. Our overall goal is to build up this sector, empower organisations and thus create an environment where organisations can work collaboratively to advocate for the changes that are required to tackle the major public health challenges that our country faces.

Our first capacity-building event was an online workshop on strengthening civil society’s role in health advocacy and this event was held over two days – on 25th February and 25th March 2022. The first session focused on how to develop and implement successful health-related advocacy campaigns and featured the following speakers and presentations:

In the second session, we explored how to monitor and evaluate advocacy campaigns and looked at the successes of advocates from across the world using sugar-sweetened beverages as a case study. During this session attendees heard from:

  • Dr Shelly Trim, Development Coordination Officer, Data Management & Results Monitoring/Reporting, Office of the UN Resident Coordinator – Measuring Success: The Importance of Monitoring and Evaluation
  • Maisha Hutton, Executive Director, Healthy Caribbean Coalition – The Need for Action on SSBs in the Caribbean
  • Shirley Ewang, Advocacy & External Engagement Specialist, Gatefield Impact– Lessons Learnt: The Role of Civil Society in the Introduction of an SSB Tax in Nigeria
  • Dr Marissa Carty, NCD Coordinator,  Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Health – Developing a Federal SSB Policy for St. Kitts and Nevis

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Through this first two-part workshop, we were able to bring civil society organisations together  to build their capacity so that together we can more effectively advocate for the evidence-based policies that St Kitts and Nevis needs to improve the public’s health. 

Conclusion

Capacity-building is a useful first step in building a strong civil society sector, but we recognize that strengthening this sector requires more than just capacity-building; it requires a commitment from decision-makers to transform the sector from an informal, voluntary sector to a dynamic, sustainable sector that becomes a viable career option for those wanting to make a difference in society. To support this transition requires an investment of time, funding and resources; these investments are more than worth it because of the many benefits that CSOs can bring to the health, development and economy of a country.

By admin
Womb Wellness (3) (Web)
Women's Health
April 2, 2022

International Women’s Day Webinar

This year, the theme for International Women’s Day was ‘Break the Bias,’ and organisers asked us all to imagine a world that is free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination and built on equity and inclusivity. A world where women have full access to opportunities, information and the freedom to define their own success.

When it comes to women’s health issues like fibroids, endometriosis and PCOS, many biases exist, such as: these conditions are “not that bad”, “not really that painful” and “not a public health priority.”  These biases have left women with subpar treatment options, a lack of information to make informed choices about their health and a lack of appropriate support.  As we neared International Women’s Day, one of this year’s missions reminded us to stand up and address these health-related biases so that women are empowered and can take control of their health. Therefore, in recognition of International Women’s Day, we hosted a virtual womb wellness presentation with guest speaker, Dr Keriise Manchester, an obstetrician and gynaecologist in St. Kitts and Nevis and founder of Manchester Medical.

Our womb wellness session was aimed at women in St. Kitts and Nevis and focused on providing women with information and guidance on what they need to know about their womb health.  Dr Manchester provided a very comprehensive presentation exploring womb wellness throughout a women’s life course from childhood to the post-menopausal stage. The session was accessible in the way it was presented, informative and empowering and we would like to thank Dr Manchester for being a guest speaker for this session and sharing her expertise.

There is still a lot of stigma and sensitivity around the challenges that women may face with their womb health and we hope that this session provided a safe space where women could learn about an important health issue and made them feel more comfortable about talking about these issues so that they are can be addressed and treated promptly.

If you missed this session, you can watch the recording below and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send us an email.

 

By admin
World Obesity Day Image
Childhood ObesityObesityYou're Sweet Enough
March 9, 2022

World Obesity Day Activities

Every year, the 4th March is set aside as World Obesity Day and this year the theme was ‘Everybody Needs to Act.’

Obesity is defined by the World Health Organisation as ‘abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.’ Today, obesity is one of the major global health challenges that we face with 800 million people across the world being affected. Those affected by obesity are at an increased risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease and hypertension and it can also negatively impact mental health.  Additionally, obesity itself is seen as a non-communicable disease.

The cause of obesity is multi-faceted and complex. A variety of factors such as genetic risk, biology, an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, mental health and the environment all contribute to the development of obesity. Therefore, to tackle obesity a comprehensive, all-of-society approach is required i.e. ‘Everybody Needs to Act’

In St. Kitts and Nevis, we have not escaped the reach of obesity. Like many Caribbean countries our obesity rates are high and one of the highest in the world. Research has shown that 45% of adults and 26% of children in St Kitts and Nevis are obese, and this is contributing to the high rate of NCDs in the Federation. Sadly, data shows that NCDs contribute to 63% of deaths in St Kitts and Nevis and 83% of hospitalisations. To improve the health of our nation action is required and, therefore, on World Obesity Day, led by the Healthy Caribbean Coalition, we joined civil society organisations from across the region to call on Caribbean leaders to introduce evidence-based healthy food policies. These include:

  • Front of package warning labels which easily alert consumers to foods that are high in salt, sugar, saturated fat and trans fat
  • A tax of at least 20% on sugar-sweetened beverages to deter the purchase of these drinks
  • The restriction of the sale and marketing of unhealthy foods in and around schools

These policies have been shown to facilitate healthy behaviours and contribute to the creation of a healthy food environment, in short, these policies make it easy for the public to be healthy.

Also, as part of World Obesity Day, we hosted a childhood obesity webinar entitled ‘Community-Based Approaches to Tackling Childhood Obesity.’ This webinar aimed to showcase the work of CSOs in St Kitts and Nevis and explore the lessons we can learn from these efforts. Featured in this webinar were:

  • Lessons Learnt from Nevis Academy’s No Sugar Challenge – Dr Andrea Bussue, Principal of the Nevis Academy Primary school
  • Improving the health of children through medical education – Ifeanyi Ndukwu, President, Because We Care
  • Rotarians Tackling Childhood Obesity – Dominic Matthew, Rotary Club of Liamuiga
  • Nutrition for School-Aged Children – Renell Daniel, Public Health Nutritionist
  • Lessons Learnt from the Diabetic Screening of School Children – Dr  Reginald O’Loughlin,  Public Relations Officer, St Kitts Diabetes Association
  • Advocating for Evidence-Based Health Policies, Isalean Phillip, Advocacy Officer, Lake Health and Wellbeing

This was a very informative event that highlighted the important role that civil society plays in tackling important public health issues. If you missed this event, you can watch the recording below. 

 

By admin
Tyrrell Williams
BlogYou're Sweet Enough
February 8, 2022

Dance Competition Prize Giving

As part of our You’re Sweet Enough campaign, we hosted a virtual dance competition and last week, we had a great time presenting the winners of the competition with their prizes.

It was so rewarding to not only see the excitement of all the children as they received their prizes but to also hear them singing our jingle and remembering the core message of our campaign.

We are very grateful to Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine for their generous donation of laptops, tablets, projects and watercoolers as prizes. The kids loved them! Additionally, we would like to thank the Curriculum Development Unit at the Ministry of Education for partnering with us for this fun and engaging campaign activity.

Congratulations to all our winners. You did a great job!.

By admin
Alcohol
Diet
January 29, 2022

No Amount of Alcohol is Good For Us

Many of us grew up with the notion that a small amount of red wine is good for the heart and can decrease our risk of developing heart disease, but a new policy brief published by the World Heart Federation  (WHF) has corrected this myth.

In their brief, the WHF highlights the mounting evidence that has led to the fairly recent conclusion by global health researchers and the World Health Organisation that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption; any level of alcohol consumption affects our health.  

In recent years, researchers have shown that alcohol consumption is linked to an increased risk of developing non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, digestive diseases, and intentional and unintentional injuries and some communicable diseases. Additionally, consuming even small amounts of alcohol can increase our risk of stroke, heart failure, coronary disease and other cardiovascular diseases.

If alcohol is so harmful to our health, then how did many of us come to believe that alcohol is beneficial to the health of our heart? The WHF’s policy brief explains that over the past thirty years some researchers, the alcohol industry and the media have been aggressively promoting the misleading message that alcohol can prolong life by reducing our risk of cardiovascular disease, with them pushing that red wine, in particular, is a heart-healthy beverage because of its resveratrol content and other alcoholic beverages are heart-healthy because of their high-density lipoprotein ( HDL) content. The WHF policy brief explains that these claims have now been refuted with high-quality research that shows the many negative health outcomes of consuming any amount of alcohol.

As part of their policy brief the WHF is calling for stricter alcohol restrictions and are specifically recommending the following with regards to advocating for change:

  • Advocate for the adoption of WHO’s SAFER Guidelines
  • Call for strict regulation of alcohol products
  • Advocate for minimum pricing of alcohol products
  • Build capacity internally and among peers to promote cessation of alcohol use and abstinence from alcohol
  • Promote community, national, and global best practices and materials, such as the PAHO “Live better, drink less” campaign, and advocate for their uptake
  • Communicate evidence on the harms of alcohol use, including the clear messages that no level of alcohol is safe and alcohol consumption increases the risk of CVD
  • Prioritise alcohol control in national agendas for health and support policy coherence between health and other sectors
  • Facilitate screening for the use of alcohol and other substances as a part of risk mitigation during the health assessment of individuals visiting a health care centre
  • Set the example of non-collaboration with the alcohol industry and/or its public relations groups.

We applaud the WHF on publishing this policy brief and dispelling a very pervasive and harmful myth about alcohol. We hope that everyone – policymakers and the public- acts on this information and works towards eliminating the consumption of alcohol.  From our point of view, we encourage  healthy drinking and recommend that everyone select water as their drink of choice and both reduce their sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and abstain from alcohol.

For more information, you can read the WHF policy brief here  and you can find out about our healthy drinking campaign, You’re Sweet Enough here.

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By admin
DrinkWaterMindBusiness
BlogDietYou're Sweet Enough
January 13, 2022

The Role of Artists in Promoting Healthy Habits

On 1st January 2022, popular soca artist Patrice Roberts released the video for her new song, Mind Your Business. We listened with great interest when the song started and we heard the catchy chorus of ‘Drink Water and Mind Your Business’ and thought with pleasant surprise: ‘Wow! Now that’s different!’

For us, this song was well-timed because, for the past year, we have been running a public health campaign entitled ‘You’re Sweet Enough.’ This campaign aims to educate the public about the health impact of consuming too many sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) as research has shown that the overconsumption of these types of beverages is linked to weight gain, obesity and the development of non-communicable diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart diseases and hypertension.

A major part of our campaign focuses on encouraging the public to reduce their SSB consumption and to drink water instead. And, in order to encourage this behaviour change, we have explored various avenues including composing a catchy jingle, utilising animation, hosting public engagement events and advocating for evidence-based health policies that have been shown to be effective at reducing the public’s consumption of SSBs; policies such as an SSB tax, restricting the sale and marketing of SSBs in and around schools and front of package warning labels. Whilst this all-encompassing approach is making a difference, we are competing with the high volume of marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages, and there is a need to see how these messages can be balanced with more healthy lifestyle messages in mainstream media. In the Caribbean region, one way to do this is to use music to reach a wide audience as music, particularly soca music, is ingrained in our culture.  

Therefore, through our jingle, we worked with local artist Dejour, who provided the vocals for our jingle, to help amplify our campaign message in a fun and engaging way. Through music, we were able to reach all age groups and genders, and we were able to extend the message further through dance. In essence, we were able to link a positive health message to ‘coolness’ and,  through our ‘catchy’ jingle, the healthy drinking message of our campaign was remembered by our audience with members of the public anecdotally reporting that they remembered the jingle when they were making beverage purchases or they sang the jingle to their children to encourage them to select water.

In order to build on this success, we need more positive health messages in the mainstream that amplify our healthy drinking message. Enter: ‘Drink Water and Mind You Business’ by Patrice Roberts.

As mentioned previously, we were very surprised, and pleasantly so, by Patrice Roberts’ new song. We were surprised because, historically, when we explore the messages of mainstream music, when it comes to lifestyle habits, the messages predominantly promote unhealthy behaviours. Specifically, when we look at drinking messages in music, many songs promote the consumption, and most times, the overconsumption of alcohol.  For example, a study conducted by the Boston School of Public Health reviewed 720 songs from Billboard Magazine’s year-end charts from 2009 to 2011 and found that 23% of songs mentioned alcohol and that urban music (rap, hip hop and R&B – the genres of music that we are more likely to listen to in the Caribbean) had the highest percentage of alcohol mentions, with 38% of these songs referencing alcohol. Additionally, when looking at Caribbean music, a Guyanese study reported that 37% of Guyanese chutney songs contain references to alcohol. Music is a powerful influential tool and research has shown that songs containing references to alcohol have a direct impact on the public’s alcohol consumption.

With this being said, we can see that music artists have an important role to play when it comes to promoting healthy habits. Through responsible songwriting and music video creation, they can positively influence the behaviour of their fans and improve their health and wellbeing.  Let’s take a look at Patrice Roberts’ new song as an example. Since 1st January 2022, this song has garnered almost half a million views on YouTube and since this time Patrice Roberts has been encouraging her fans to drink water and stay hydrated.

Patrice Roberts’ fans, in turn,  have responded positively and have stated that, indeed, they too will be drinking more water this year in direct response to this new song.

“Imma sit back, drink water And mind my business!!”

 “For de New Year I gon drink water and mind my business.”

“Water is life…..drinking water and minding my business.” 

“Water (check), minding my business (been doing that all my life). Sounds about right to me. Great song!”

It’s early days and this isn’t too scientific, but we can see from a quick perusal of Patrice Roberts’ social media platforms that the song has had a large reach, has acted as a reminder to her fans to select water as their drink of choice this year and has created an intention amongst her fans to drink more water.

As the year progresses, we hope that more artists will make the decision to promote healthy habits amongst their fan base as for too long the music industry has glamourised negative behaviour.

References

 

  1. Engels RC, Slettenhaar G, ter Bogt T, Scholte RH. Effect of alcohol references in music on alcohol consumption in public drinking places. Am J Addict. 2011 Nov-Dec;20(6):530-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1521-0391.2011.00182.x. PMID: 21999498.
  1. Sanchara N (2016). The glamorization of alcohol in contemporary Guyanese Chutney Music. Accessed on 12th January 2022 from http://guyfolkfest.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Nadine-Sanchara-Glamorization-of-Alcohol-in-Contempoary-Guyanese-Chutney-Music.pdf  
  1. Siegel M, Johnson RM, Tyagi K, Power K, Lohsen MC, Ayers AJ, Jernigan DH. Alcohol brand references in U.S. popular music, 2009-2011. Subst Use Misuse. 2013 Dec;48(14):1475-84. doi: 10.3109/10826084.2013.793716. Epub 2013 Aug 23. PMID: 23971875; PMCID: PMC3830686.

 

By admin