Barbados has a National Quality Policy which better positions the country to address its Non-Communicable Diseases and Childhood Obesity epidemics.This was disclosed on Monday morning by Acting Director of the Barbados National Standards Institution (BNSI) Hayden Rhynd during the debate on the Appropriations Bill which continued from the Well of Parliament with an examination of the Ministry of Energy and Business Development which has been allocated close to $46 million in this year’s estimates.The BNSI head said the policy is the first of its kind for Barbados, putting the country in a better position to address the NCDs and childhood obesity with respect to health and economic costs associated with treatment.“This approach is going to be done through simple warning labels,” he told the Chamber.Rhynd noted that since saving lives and improving health, and helping the vulnerable are among the BNSI’s top priorities, the labels would be simple and will give clear information on the contents, giving consumers the power of choice. That programme is to be rolled out this financial year.
