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Subregional Meeting of Representatives and Center Directors from Central America, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, and the US-Mexican Border Field Office

(Belize City, 12–16 February 2007)

Discussion Guide

Main Objective: Contribute to setting the stage for the implementation of the Regional Strategy on an Integrated Approach to the Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases Including Diet, Physical Activity, and Health, in health activities in the Mesoamerican subregion.

Specific Objectives

1. Analyze the document containing the objectives of the Regional Strategy that the countries identified as priority at the subregional consultation held last year in Panama.
2. Share thoughts on incorporating these priority objectives into the work processes of the Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) and into those of the Biennial Program Budget (BPB); identify technical cooperation projects.
3. Recommend guidelines for implementing the priority objectives prioritized in the National Health Plan, Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS), and the BPB.
4. Recommend the necessary steps to incorporate other sectors (education, agriculture, transportation, etc.) for the implementation of the priority objectives.

Summary

The PAHO Noncommunicable Disease Unit participated in the subregional meeting of PAHO/WHO Representatives and Directors of its Regional Pan American Centers from Mesoamerica and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, held in Belize City from 12–17 February 2007. Drs. James Hospedales and Enrique Pérez Flores made their presentation of the results of the subregional consultation on the Regional Strategy on an Integrated Approach to the Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases Including Diet, Physical Activity, and Health, held in Panama in November 2006.

The presentation included results from the Central American Diabetes Initiative (CAMDI) and news on progress PAHO has made in developing tools related to chronic noncommunicable diseases. Afterwards there was a discussion with the PWRs and Directors with the objective of receiving feedback that will help set the stage for the implementation of the Regional Strategy via health activities throughout Central America.

Key recommendations were made by the Representatives and Directors, which included utilizing existing research, conducting economic studies to identifying the impact of chronic disease on poverty, and identifying technical-cooperation projects among the Central American countries, in order to take advantage of the current movement towards integration.