It was a historic occasion in Trinidad this past 22 March, when nine civil society organisations came together to officially launch the Trinidad & Tobago NCD Alliance, the first of its kind in the Caribbean -  a National NCD Alliance. 

Opening remarks at the launch were provided by representatives from the Alliance, the Ministry of Health, PAHO, UN and the Healthy Caribbean Coalition.

The nine founding organisations of the Alliance are the Trinidad & Tobago Cancer Society; the Diabetes Association of Trinidad & Tobago; the Trinidad and Tobago Heart Foundation; Heartbeat International of Trinidad & Tobago; the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition for Tobacco Control; Caribbean Sport and Development Agency; Trinidad and Tobago Association of Nutritionists and Dietician and the Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago (secretariat).  

Guided by their vision to be the lead coordinator and voice of civil society in the fight against noncommunicable diseases, the Alliance will focus their work on advocacy; monitoring and evaluating the national NCD response; NGO capacity building; representation in national, regional and global fora; supporting dialogue and networking; and resource mobilisation.

This journey started over one year ago when Dr. Karen Sealey convened a small group of health CSOs keen on exploring the idea of a unified civil society voice amplifying the NCD message in Trinidad.

With passion and conviction, Dr. Sealey and the founding organsiations achieved what has not yet been achieved in the Caribbean. The growth of the TT NCD Alliance over the coming months and years presents a unique learning opportunity for other territories considering formation of national NCD alliances. 

See more information, including images and video from the launch via the link below.