IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 173 

Supporting the goals and ideals of the First Summit of Caribbean Ministers 

of Health. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 21, 2007 

Mrs. JONES of Ohio (for herself and Mrs. CHRISTENSEN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of the First Summit of 

Caribbean Ministers of Health. 

Whereas Congress passed by voice vote, a resolution affirming the recognition of Caribbean American Heritage during the month of June; 

Whereas The United States Department of State is hosting 

the Caribbean 20/20 conference on issues of the Caribbean-United States relationship; 

Whereas the Heads of Government of the 15 permanent 

Members of the Caribbean Community are gathered in 

Washington, DC; 

Whereas on June 8, members of the Caribbean American 

Community commemorated Caribbean American HIV/ 

AIDS Awareness at the United States Capitol; 


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Whereas healthcare and the access to healthcare in less developed nations has become subject to negotiations and 

agreement which heretofore have had clear and distinguishable boundaries outside of the health care arena; 

Whereas those agreements now impact the ability of a nation 

to provide services, personnel, and products to their community; 

Whereas the health of a nation is intricately linked and most 

naturally determines the economic well being of a nation; 

Whereas the international community has joined efforts by 

the coordination of various international agencies to combat the major illness and diseases in the developing 

world; 

Whereas the link between the research, treatment, and prevention of disease between the United States and our 

hemispheric neighbors is a critical link in the international war against treatable and curable disease; 

Whereas the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean, as 

throughout the world has had a devastating impact on 

the economy, the family structure, and the population at 

large and the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/ 

AIDS (UNAIDS) has cited the region the second most 

affected in the world; 

Whereas research has proven that one main barrier to early 

detection of cancers among Caribbean residents is an admitted lack of participation in public awareness programs; 

Whereas today, countries of the Caribbean are undergoing a 

demographic transition where both men and women live 

longer than in the past, with women living an average of 

4 to 6 years longer than men; 


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Whereas education is inextricably linked to health conditions 

and literacy rates require healthy minds and bodies to develop; 

Whereas poverty and economic factors play a major role in 

determining health status as well as general levels of income and expenditure; 

Whereas overall, chronic noncommunicable diseases are the 

leading cause of death, with heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and injuries are top causes of death in the 

Caribbean region; 

Whereas while childhood infections have decreases as a cause 

of death, nutritional deficiencies have increased and in 

early adulthood, diabetes, suicide, and homicide have increased as causes of death in the past 15 years; 

Whereas the nations of the Caribbean have demonstrated a 

commitment in both time and resources to the improvement of health care delivery, access, and treatment of its 

citizens through their membership and participation in 

and partnership with other nations and international institutions; and 

Whereas the United States Library of Congress will play host 

to the first and most historic meeting of the Ministers of 

Health from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) 

group to discuss the health of the region and plans to use 

the resources of the region as well as its public/private 

partnerships designed to improve the health and welfare 

of their nations: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That the Congress— 


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1 (1) supports the goals and ideals of the First 

2 Summit of Caribbean Ministers of Health; 

3 (2) encourages all international agencies, non4 governmental agencies, private voluntary organiza5 tions, governments, individuals both here in the 

6 United States and globally to recognize this historic 

7 event; and 

8 (3) encourages the continued coordination of 

9 the nations of the region to combat health crises as 

10 a region. 

Æ 


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