WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao is set to participate in the development of a harmonized Kingdom-wide system for monitoring non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including the creation of a cancer registry.
The initiative responds to rising rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer in the Caribbean.
The agreement recognizes:
- Urgent need for cancer registration
- Standardized coding systems (ICD/ICPC)
- Digital infrastructure upgrades
- Trained public health data specialists
For Curaçao, this could significantly improve long-term healthcare planning, allowing policymakers to base prevention programs on accurate data.
Given the island’s growing diabetes crisis and aging population, robust disease surveillance may become one of the most important public health tools of the next decade.