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CI Health Conference with Dr. C.J. Hospedales

Naresa A. Peart Robinson
Tania Johnson
Courtship & Marriage
International College of the Cayman Islands

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CI Health Conference with Dr. C.J. Hospedales
The Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference is an annual event in the Cayman Islands. On
October 20th, 2016, the students of the International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI),
Courtship and Marriage class attended the conference to listen to the presentation on Writing
the next chapter: achieving goals for a healthier Caribbean region by Executive Director of
Caribbean Public Health Agency Dr. C.J. Hospedales. It was a pleasure to hear Dr. Hospedales
speak with such enthusiasm about the importance of healthcare and the contribution that
healthcare has made to the development of the Caribbean region.
Dr. Hospedales explains that health and wellness are essential to the continuous growth
of the economy. While he believes that as a region we have been stagnant with the development
of preventative measures to reduce sickness and diseases, it is important to demonstrate
awareness to increase the longevity of the society. Health and wellness enhance economic
productivity such as if individuals are not well they are unable to function at their full capacity.
At the center of the health and development sustainability is the Caribbean Cooperation in Health
(CCH) which looks at health and wellness, increased economic productivity, national and
regional development goals and sustainable development goals (Hospedales, 2016). These goals
were approved by the world leaders last year. It was interesting to learn about healthcare
contribution and that health and wellness contribute to the economic productivity. While this
may be common knowledge until Dr. Hospedales mentioned it in his presentation, I never
understood the importance of the relationship between health, wellness and economic
productivity.
The CCH has tremendous benefits for the Caribbean region (Hospedales, 2016). Dr.
Hospedales advised that it is because of the CCH-1 in 1991, the Caribbean region was successful

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in eliminating indigenous measles. The Caribbean was the first region in the world to achieve
this goal (Hospedales, 2016). Eliminating measles a huge accomplishment for the Caribbean as
the ability to eradicate measles has protected the society as a whole. By removing measles from
diseases affecting society allows doctors to treat other illness and scientist to take on new tasks
of working on eliminating other diseases as the measles battle became one less battle to fight. I
am happy to learn about the eradication of measles as because of this I never have to worry about
my children getting the measles and the effect of such a disease on their small bodies. More
appreciation needs to be given to scientist because it is their sacrifice and contribution which
cause the increase in our wellness today.
Another benefit of CCH is CCH-11 where there was a massive scaling in response to
HIV and AIDs with over 1.2Bllion dollars mobilized (Hospedales, 2016). Dr. Hospedales
explained that it is through this mobilization the Caribbean region benefited tremendously and
are in the process of certifying the stopping of the transfer of HIV and AIDs from mother to
child. Dr. Hospedales also believe that within the next ten years we will be successful in stopping
all transfers of HIV and AIDs. Preventing the transfer of HIV and AIDs disease is essential for
the sustainability and continuation of the society. There have been many victims that have lost
the fight against HIV and AIDs because of lack of resources and research on the HIV and AIDs
diseases. The ability to stop the transfer of these diseases to children give these babies a chance
to grow as healthy individuals. The work of the CCH is crucial, and as a society, we need to join
forces with the CCH to fight against diseases and share awareness of the cause. We have seen the
benefit of the 1.2Billion dollars injected in the fight against HIV and AIDs. This injection of
funds has caused me to wonder if the millionaires and billionaires in the world contributed a

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small percentage of their wealth, would scientist be able to find cures for diseases which are
currently killing our families?
In CCH-111 the region has benefited from taking the awareness of Non-Communicable
Diseases (NCD) to the level of global attention (Hospedales, 2016). NCD are also known as
chronic diseases, are not passed from person to person and follow a long duration and slow
progression (WHO-Non-communicable diseases, 2015). Examples of NCD are cardiovascular
diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes (WHO-Non-communicable diseases,
2015). Dr. Hospedales explained that this awareness was done by first sharing the knowledge at
the Port of Spain Summit on NCD on CARICOM in September 2007 and later in 2011 to the UN
General Assembly. It is because of this awareness that the NCD is now included in the
sustainable development goals of the world. Learning about the NCD is crucial to me. This
knowledge has help me to understand why the awareness of NCD is so important as they affect
the entire family. My grandfather died from diabetes, and it was so painful to watch him suffer. If
more attention is given to NCD, then more contributions can be given to investing in research to
find cures for these diseases.
Attending the Cayman Islands Health Conference and listening to Dr. Hospedales speak
about the importance of the CCH and the benefits which resulted from the contribution of
CCH1,11 and 111 has made me realize that I have a role to play in the development of the
society. Dr. Hopedales emphasize that the Caribbean region is small when compared to other
regions, but we can achieve a lot if we work together. Knowing that this little region was the first
region in the world to eradicate measles in 1991, makes me proud to be a part of the Caribbean.
It also demonstrates that if I adopt this principle of looking at the bigger picture in my

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professional career as what my company can achieve as a whole with employees working
together instead of just my contribution on my task the rewards will be endless.

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References
Hospedales, C. (2016). Writing the next chapter: achieving goals for a healthier Caribbean
region. Grand Cayman. Retrieved October 20, 2016, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amp_hkX88JU
WHO-Non-communicable diseases. (2015, January). Retrieved from
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs355/en/