Barbados has the lowest age-adjusted death rate from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Despite this, however, mortality from the main CVDs affecting the island’s population and prevalence of risk factors for most NCDs is high, particularly in those aged < 60 years. The Barbados Ministry of Health (MH) is aware that NCD control cannot be the responsibility of the MH alone, and is therefore refocusing healthcare service delivery towards a model of chronic care for the population, with a strong emphasis on a coordinated response through partnerships with other sectors of the government, civil society and the private sector.

The NCD response covers four main areas:

(1) strengthening strategic management; (2) surveillance and research; (3) integrated disease management and patient education; and (4) risk factor reduction. The target is to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by 25% by 2025 as well as to diminish the avoidable, costly morbidity from NCDs. This Action Plan, like the Strategic Plan, stems from the priority of the Barbados MH to develop a patient-centred, equitable, efficient, accessible, high-quality health care system. The MH’s NCD response is led by the NNCDC through a combined and collaborative approach to the guiding principles, encompassing “all-of-government, all-of-society”. This NCD Action Plan outlines the activities required annually for the MH and its partners to take to effectively tackle NCDs in Barbados during 2015–2019. The activities have been translated from the Barbados Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of NonCommunicable Diseases 2015–2019, prepared by the National NCD Commission (NNCDC) and the MH. Activities are outlined in tabular format, for each strategic line of action by year. The Appendix provides a brief outline of each year’s activities required by all four strategic plans. In this way the Action Plan provides the “road-map” to operationalising the Strategic Plan, including a checklist of performance indicators for measuring whether the activity has been achieved.