CARMEN Policy Observatory and

Dialogue Proposal

Presentation to the CARMEN Directing Board Meeting

San Juan, Puerto Rico 30 June 2003

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Key Challenges for CARMEN

Bring NCD prevention to the forefront of the discussion on social and economic policy development

Facilitate and support national NCD policy

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CARMEN as an Action-Oriented Initiative

Main levels of action for a public health approach for NCD

Policy Community Health Services

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CARMEN as a repository of intervention knowledge

Focus on evaluation

Pool and wealth of intervention knowledge at the 3 levels of action

To be further evaluated and exploited

• Learning about good practices

Potential Platform for NCD Policy Research Provides access to expertise in policy research and to channels for NCD delivery of policies and programs among countries.

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CARMEN as a Network

Readily available dissemination channel on lessons learned among

countries

Case stories from demonstration areas can be used

To raise visibility / profile

To obtain political and public support

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Roadblocks facing CARMEN

Lack of political support for NCD prevention

Less than 50% of WHO Member States have established national NCD prevention policies and plans

Less than 40% for the Americas

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Ref: Assessment of National Capacity for Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control. WHO 2002

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Health Canada, through its WHO Collaborating Centre on NCD Policy facilitated 2 comparative studies (1994 and 2000) on policy development and implementation processes.

27 CINDI countries and 3 CARMEN countries participated

Results provide useful guidance on policy gaps and challenges

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Some key findings: Strategic issues to be addressed by CINDI/CARMEN

Increased focus on population approaches

Better marketing of NCD programs

Case studies should be better exploited as advocacy tools

Challenge of moving from demonstrations to countrywide, and to integrate into national health systems

Untapped opportunities for CINDI and CARMEN as research observatories for best practices

Potential of CINDI and CARMEN as linkage agents with other health promotion and disease prevention initiatives.

CARMEN Policy Observatory Proposal

Joint initiative between the WHO Collaborating Centre on NCD

Policy (Canada) and PAHO

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Building on investments and experience to date…

WHO Collaborative Centre on NCD Policy

Prior policy comparative studies

Qualitative research expertise

Ongoing NCD policy working group for CINDI centres.

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Policy Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean

PAHO / WHO

Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control

Member States

Academic Institutions

NGOs, etc.

Provide a knowledge base and analytical support to policy-makers

Comparative NCD policy analysis

Bridge between evidence and policy makers’ needs

Develop tools and practical recommendations

POTENTIAL PARTNERS AIM

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Why a Policy Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean?

Common NCD Policy Challenges across the region

Scarce evidence on the actual effectiveness of NCD policies

Ideology-rich but knowledge poor

Available information lacks relevance for policy-makers and agencies

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Goals of the Observatory

Support and promote evidence-based health policy making through comprehensive analysis of NCD policy development and implementation processes

Expand the necessary technical capabilities for NCD policy analysis and evaluation in the Region to provide evidence base to support decision making process

Bring NCD prevention at the forefront of policy discussions and increase visibility and political support

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Key Objectives

To facilitate the introduction of policies for the prevention of NCDs in government and social development programs

To technically improve the formulation and implementation of NCD policies

To boost technical capacity in the countries

e.g. analysis and evaluation of public policies for the prevention of NCD in Latin America and the Caribbean

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Key Objectives To generate relevant information for the design,

formulation, and implementation of public policies for the prevention of NCDs

To adopt and adapt methodologies for policy analysis in the Region to facilitate their frequent use in decision-making

To promote the formulation of policies that advocate NCD prevention in the Region

To facilitate technical cooperation among countries

NCD PolicyNCD PolicyObservatoryObservatory

Clear

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Clear

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Dissem

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Dissem

inationPolicy Policy

AnalysisAnalysis

MonitoringMonitoring

Training

Training

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Activities & Products

Country Information & Monitoring

NCD Policy Profiles for Countries in the Region

Clearinghouse

Collection and classification of scientific and “grey” information on key policy issues and individual country experiences

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Activities & Products Analytical studies on NCD Policies

Cross-country sub regional comparisons through case studies and qualitative research

Dissemination Activities

Websites

Publication

Policy forums

Training

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A First Step

Case studies of

Public policies aimed at prevention and control of the most important risk factors for NCDs such as smoking, nutrition and physical inactivity

Establishment of a technical working group with interested countries

Timetable

Completion of case studies by end of 2004

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Next Steps

Expand to other networks, e.g. CINDI

Additional themes for analysis

Dissemination, publications, web-based tools

Policy dialogues / forums, etc.