Paris, 26th July 2024
A unique opportunity presented itself for St. Kitts and Nevis to showcase its sports policy credentials and meet high-level sports policy stakeholders at the Commonwealth Sports Minsters Meeting held in Paris on the fringes of the Paris Olympic Games this week.
The Hon. Samal Duggins, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Marine Resources and Cooperatives, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Sports and The Creative Economy and Entertainment and The Arts, participated in a special session of the Commonwealth Sports Minsters held just before the opening of the Paris Olympics, bringing together 56 sovereign states making up the Commonwealth of Nations. The Minister had the opportunity to exchange views with Commonwealth Dominica-born, Secretary-General, Rt. Hon Patricia Scotland KC, who chaired the event.
The Minister was accompanied to the session by the Federation’s Ambassador to UNESCO, Dr. David P. Doyle.
Minister Duggins was invited to deliver an intervention on Navigating the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Burden in St. Kitts and Nevis Through Sport and Physical Activity, in which he stressed the pressing importance for the Caribbean region of the pervasive burden of NCDs. He noted that “In St. Kitts and Nevis, as in many of our member states, NCDs are responsible for 80% of morbidity and mortality”, underscoring the urgent need for innovative and sustainable strategies to promote healthier lifestyles and improve public health outcomes, via sporting activities.
Declaring that isolated efforts to address NCDs must give way to a more unified approach involving all stakeholders, by cultivating partnerships with international, intraregional, and inter-ministerial agencies. “These alliances are crucial for sharing resources, expertise, and best practices, ensuring that our initiatives are both impactful and sustainable.”
Minister Duggins seized the occasion to outline the sterling efforts being made in St. Kitts and Nevis to fully implementing the revised National Sport Policy and Strategic Plan, which now integrates improved public health measures. With the establishment of a Dedicated National Sport Council Secretariat, measures are being rolled-out to promote Sport and Recreation to combat NCDs, via physical activity as a preventive health measure, Key initiatives, stated the Minister, included community fitness programs, school-based sports activities, and public awareness campaigns to educate citizens about the benefits of an active lifestyle.
Central to this innovative focus on sports as a health-improvement mechanism was the emphasis on Community Engagement and Participation, by encouraging widespread involvement in sports and recreational activities and a rigorous targeting of different age groups and demographics, “ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to participate and benefit.”
In concluding, Minister Duggins paid tribute to invaluable support of UNESCO and the Commonwealth Secretariat for its continuing technical assistance afforded to our twin-island state in the development of a national sports policy framework, including strengthening of our national sports council.
“It underlines the importance of the expertise that the Commonwealth Secretariat brings to its members.”
Ambassador Doyle remarked “St. Kitts and Nevis’ efforts to reform the national sports policy framework originated from a UNESCO-initiated sports project tailored to the sporting policy needs of Federation, going back five years. This was pursued by the Commonwealth Secretariat who assisted the government in scaling up the national sports policy framework, now embracing a number of health-improvement measures associated with sport directed at youth and civil society in general”.
Minister Duggins enjoyed the opportunity to meet Commonwealth sports ministers and exchange best practice, notably with Pakistan Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Mr. Rana Sanaullah. Short meetings were also convened for Minister Duggins with Ms. Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, to discuss St. Kitts & Nevis’ anti-doping in sports activities, and Ms. Fiona Bull, Physical Activity Unit Head at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) department of health promotion.
St. Kitts and Nevis is pursuing discussions with the Commonwealth Secretariat in London in strengthening the links between sport activity and improved health in the Federation, with prospective interventions in partnership with the WHO’s Caribbean office.
