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 fol-
lowing 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 affirm-
ing the recognition of Caribbean American Heritage dur-
ing the month of June; 
Whereas The United States Department of State is hosting 
the Caribbean 20/20 conference on issues of the Carib-
bean-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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•HCON 173 IH 
Whereas healthcare and the access to healthcare in less devel-
oped nations has become subject to negotiations and 
agreement which heretofore have had clear and distin-
guishable 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 com-
munity; 
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 com-
bat the major illness and diseases in the developing 
world; 
Whereas the link between the research, treatment, and pre-
vention of disease between the United States and our 
hemispheric neighbors is a critical link in the inter-
national 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 ad-
mitted lack of participation in public awareness pro-
grams; 
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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•HCON 173 IH 
Whereas education is inextricably linked to health conditions 
and literacy rates require healthy minds and bodies to de-
velop; 
Whereas poverty and economic factors play a major role in 
determining health status as well as general levels of in-
come and expenditure; 
Whereas overall, chronic noncommunicable diseases are the 
leading cause of death, with heart disease, stroke, diabe-
tes, 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 in-
creased 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 improve-
ment of health care delivery, access, and treatment of its 
citizens through their membership and participation in 
and partnership with other nations and international in-
stitutions; 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 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress— 
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•HCON 173 IH 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of the First 
Summit of Caribbean Ministers of Health; 
(2) encourages all international agencies, non-
governmental agencies, private voluntary organiza-
tions, governments, individuals both here in the 
United States and globally to recognize this historic 
event; and 
(3) encourages the continued coordination of 
the nations of the region to combat health crises as 
a region. 
Æ 
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