CARMEN Policy Observatory and Dialogue Proposal

1. CARMEN Policy Observatory and Dialogue Proposal Presentation to the CARMEN Directing Board Meeting San Juan, Puerto Rico 30 June 2003

2. 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

3. CARMEN as an Action-Oriented Initiative Main levels of action for a public health approach for NCD • Policy • Community • Health Services

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

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

9. 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

10. 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.

11. CARMEN Policy Observatory ProposalJoint initiative between the WHO Collaborating Centre on NCD Policy (Canada) and PAHO

12. 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.

13. 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 Policy Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean POTENTIAL PARTNERS AIM

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Monitoring Clearinghouse NCD Policy Observatory Training Dissemination Policy Analysis

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. Next Steps • Expand to other networks, e.g. CINDI • Additional themes for analysis • Dissemination, publications, web- based tools • Policy dialogues / forums, etc.