The OECS Diabetes Prevention And Care Project

The OECS Diabetes Prevention and Care Project is a two (2) year project supported by the World Diabetes Foundation. This project aims to reduce the number of citizens affected by diabetes in the Eastern Caribbean. The OECS secured US$400,000 funding from the World Diabetes Foundation for the execution of the project which runs from 2018 to 2020.

The OECS Diabetes Prevention and Care Project aims to reduce the number of people affected by diabetes in the Eastern Caribbean region through raising awareness on a healthier lifestyle, building capacities of health professionals on updated guidelines on the management of diabetes and supporting the development of an OECS diabetes registry.

The project is coordinated by the OECS Health Unit. It is being implemented in partnership with the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF), Ministries of Health NDCs focal points of the participating OECS Member States, NCD Commissions and National Diabetes Associations.    

Beneficiary Countries:

The OECS Diabetes Prevention and Care Project aims to lower the number of people affected by diabetes in the Eastern Caribbean region, particularly in five OECS Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Goals

The objectives of the OECS Diabetes Prevention and Care Project are as follows:

• Reducing the number of citizens affected by diabetes
• Raising awareness on diabetes to encourage people to adopt healthier lifestyle
• Training health professionals on updated guidelines on the management of diabetes in the Eastern Caribbean
• Supporting the development of an OECS diabetes registry

Activities

Multiple activities are currently implemented in the scope of the project, in order to achieve the goals mentioned above and address diabetes in the Eastern Caribbean. Some activities of the OECS Diabetes Prevention and Care Project include:

• Establishing country level steering groups in participating countries headed by the Ministry of Health NCD Unit to ensure the implementation and monitoring of the project
• Training of healthcare professionals on updated guidelines and protocol, and strengthening of patient registers integrated with existing Health Management Information Systems (HMIS)
• Rolling-out an awareness campaign and health promotion activities through diabetes associations and the civil society to reach out patients, households and the general public in communities, workplaces, places of worship and schools.

In late 2017, the Eastern Caribbean was impacted by hurricanes Irma and Maria. which left an unprecedented mark in the OECS member states of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the Commonwealth of Dominica, Montserrat and St. Kitts and Nevis.

The catastrophic damages of hurricanes Irma and Maria associated with the duration of tremendous hardships which were experienced in the impacted countries have prompted the OECS-World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) funded project named “Diabetes in Disasters in Eastern Caribbean Island States Project”, in an effort to understand and possibly decrease the risks related to natural disasters and the subsequent disruption in healthcare for vulnerable persons with diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). 

Beneficiary Countries:

The Diabetes in Disasters in Eastern Caribbean Island States Project aims to address and mitigate risks due to natural disasters and subsequent disruption of healthcare for people with  diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly in five OECS Member States: Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. 

Goal

The main objective of the Diabetes in Disasters in Eastern Caribbean Island States Project is to reduce the risks directly due to natural disasters and the subsequent disruption in healthcare for vulnerable persons with diabetes, hypertension and other NCDs.

Activities

Multiple activities are currently implemented in the scope of the project, in order to achieve the goal mentioned above and strengthen the management of diabetes in the Eastern Caribbean in the event of natural disasters. Some activities of the Diabetes in Disasters in Eastern Caribbean Island States Project include:

• Establishing a project steering committee consisting of health authorities and other key local/regional stakeholders from all participating Member States,
• Assessing health outcomes for people with diabetes/NCDs for the two years following the 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria through existing records with clinical indicators,
• Documenting in a video the initial health system response and lessons learned to be used as a regional advocacy tool,
• Coordinating capacity building training sessions for healthcare professionals on disaster preparedness and response for vulnerable people with diabetes/NCDs,
• Updating national and regional response plans and shelter management tools to include response to vulnerable people with diabetes/NCDs,
• Establishing patient registers integrated with existing Health Management Information Systems (HMIS),
• Developing and piloting a new OECS electronic patient record in two selected island states to ensure the continuity of care for patients moving within or outside the region due to natural disasters.

Access more resources on Health in the Eastern Caribbean via the OECS Library.  

The OECS is working in close collaboration with all the Ministries of its Member States on all matters related to Public Health in the Eastern Caribbean. The Council of Ministers of Health is hosted once a year. This meeting aims to harmonize the strategy in Public Health in the OECS Member states.