Report of the Commonwealth Health Ministers’ Meeting 2007
In May 2007, Commonwealth Health Ministers (CHM) met in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the theme ‘Lifestyle Diseases: Health Systems Approaches’. Lifestyle diseases such as stroke, cancer, heart disease and diabetes are by far the leading causes of mortality in the world, representing 60 per cent of all deaths. Ministers expressed a strong consensus that lifestyle diseases were crippling the health of Commonwealth citizens and that the time had now come to act.
With nearly 250 delegates in attendance, representing more than 40 countries, this year’s meeting continued the tradition of addressing global health problems in a uniquely Commonwealth setting. I would like to thank all of the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting (CHMM) presenters for their excellent contributions to this successful meeting. I would also like to recognise this year’s CHMM Chair, the Hon Dr Brian Chitowo, Minister of Health, Zambia, as well as Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), for her informative CHMM address.
The importance of lifestyle diseases was given further recognition when Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held an historic summit on 15 September 2007 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, under the theme ‘Stemming the Tide of Noncommunicable Diseases in the Caribbean.’ Hosted by the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, the Hon Patrick Manning, this meeting signalled Caribbean leaders’ impressive commitment to addressing lifestyle diseases. These meetings have helped raise the global profile of lifestyle diseases and will be important catalysers upon which to build our efforts.
We hope that this record of the meeting will serve as a useful guide for those wanting to learn more about lifestyle diseases. As always, we are happy to hear your comments and invite any organisations interested in this year’s theme to contact us.
Download the Report: 
CHMM Report 2007
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