Creating a Road Map: Championing Caribbean Adolescent and Youth Health

First Caribbean Congress on Adolescent Health

14-17 October 2019 was a very exciting week for Trinidadian Paediatrician and Adolescent Medicine Specialist, Asha Pemberton. After months of planning with local and global partners (including the Pan American Health Organization – PAHO, the World Health Organization – WHO, and the International Association for Adolescent Health – IAAH) and in consultation with Caribbean youth, Pemberton and team hosted the inaugural Caribbean Congress on Adolescent and Youth Health (CCAYH) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

“Championing our Wealth: Promoting the Health and Wellness of Adolescents and Youth in the Caribbean” not only served as the Caribbean Congress, it also served as the first Caribbean regional IAAH meeting. As the Chair of the CCAYH planning committee and serving as the IAAH vice president for the Caribbean region, Pemberton served a pivotal role in bringing together global partners, incorporating the voices of Caribbean young people, and bringing attention to critical areas affecting youth.

With over 200 attendees including local, regional, and global dignitaries – the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Health, The Secretary General of CARICOM, Director of PAHO, and President of IAAH – the congress was well received in the region.

Credit: Pan American Health Organization PAHO

A robust cohort of Caribbean youth were present at this congress and in addition to speakers, addressed and created a roadmap addressing four main areas affecting youth health:

Mental health, substance use, violence and injuries
Sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV and STIs
Nutrition, physical activity, sports and youth development
Climate change and the environment

“We are extremely excited with the success of the first Caribbean Congress on Adolescent and Youth Health,” said Pemberton. “Even more
exciting was the development of the Regional Adolescent and Youth Health Roadmap. This document highlights key recommendations with aligned strategic actions to address adolescent health concerns experienced by Member States of the Caribbean Region. A Call to Action was also developed as an integral part of the Roadmap and this reflects the views and commitments of congress attendees and more than eighty young people,” stated Pemberton.

Within the Caribbean, there is continued recognition of the disparities in the burden of poverty, underemployment and unemployment, secondary school completion rates and lack of access to health information and quality health services for adolescents and youth. The Congress successfully elevated adolescent and youth health issues to the top of regional agendas and functioned as a catalyst toward policy, program, and system changes. “Those who work with and on behalf of adolescents can’t do it alone. Young people need to actively advocate for their health and wellness,” said Pemberton. “Creating this Roadmap and Call to Action will hopefully continue to inspire, motivate, and promote change in the ways young people access services and create an environment where Caribbean adolescents and young people not only survive, but thrive.”

IAAH President, Susan Sawyer had this to say about her first visit to the Caribbean and her participation in the 1st IAAH Caribbean Regional Congress.

“Some meetings have a spark about them, an intangible energy that reflects both who is there as well as the anticipated future benefits. This was certainly the case for the 1st IAAH Caribbean Regional Congress for Adolescent Health which the IAAH Council was thrilled to support.

In my first visit to the Caribbean, I gained some appreciation of the numerous challenges the community faces that extend well beyond demography (60% of the Caribbean population is under 30). The impacts of interpersonal violence – for both adolescent boys and girls – and the challenge of early sexual debut in the context of lack of access to contraception were distressing; the task of legal reform that is required to advance adolescent health in every country is large; and a huge effort is required to train the next generation of health professionals.

Yet the Caribbean has many assets that provide confidence about the required responses. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) provides a framework for collaboration across the 20 countries, including for healthy adolescent development. The extent that the various UN agencies are supportive of adolescent health was notable. And I was impressed with the desire of the youth advocates to contribute to shaping their communities for the better (I was equally mesmerized by their dance moves after the conference dinner!).

One of the ways that IAAH enhances individual competencies, national capacity, and global investment in adolescent health is through expanding national and regional associations. Given the extent of Caribbean challenges, I was honoured to formally launch the Caribbean Association for Adolescent Health at the conference. While the power of associations often depends on the energy of a few key individuals, the leverage that associations can achieve within clinical, public health and legal systems reflects their capacity to amplify the efforts and influence of those same individuals.

IAAH has strong links with the Caribbean that extend back to Dr Sheila Forrester, the ‘grand dame’ of adolescent health from Jamaica, and that have more recently focused on a small band of highly capable adolescent health professionals in Trinidad, including IAAH’s current Caribbean vice-president (Asha Pemberton) and our past vice-president (Abigail Kong-Harrison). We are very proud of their efforts to promote the health of young people in the Caribbean.”

Click here to view the Roadmap document. All efforts are being propelled toward a second regional meeting in the latter half of 2022.

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About the Author

Asha Pemberton, MBBS, DM (Paed) is a Paediatrician and Adolescent Medicine Specialist, a clinician, and an Associate Lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Faculty of Medical Sciences. She is the IAAH Regional Vice President for the Caribbean and is a member of the IAAH Communications Committee.

Susan Sawyer, MBBS, MD, FRACP, FSAHM is a Professor and Director, Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia and the Geoff and Helen Handbury Chair of Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, The University of Melbourne. She is the President of IAAH.

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