Caribbean Commission on Health and Development Report of the Caribbean Commission on Health and Development

Abstract

[Executive Summary]. A healthy population is an essential prerequisite for the economic growth and stability of the Caribbean. This is a statement of reality that cannot be repeated too often. The picture of the Caribbean as an idyllic paradise is an appropriate one for promoting the area to the outside world and one that most nationals in the diaspora retain with fondness and nostalgia. The physical attributes often shown are real, but they sometimes hide the struggle that many citizens must make to acquire the necessities for a decent living against the background of that reality. The Caribbean region appears to be ‘developing’ when compared with other regions, and the various countries can legitimately pride themselves in how one or another of their development indexes rank on some global scale. There is no gainsaying the tremendous progress that the Caribbean has made over the decades, and there is a real possibility that if it is sustained, the region will achieve or surpass most of the Millennium Development Goals... This report responds to the mandate of the Heads of Government. It seeks to analyse different dimensions of the health situation in the Caribbean, to present the nature of the problems we face, and offer some possible solutions for consideration. The report synthesizes the material contained in the Working Papers prepared specifically for the Commission and presents some of the arguments for ‘propelling health to the centre of development.