In an effort to strengthen technical cooperation in Anguilla, PAHO led the work under the umbrella of the Better Care for NCDs initiative. An initial in-country visit was conducted in November 2024 to meet key partners within the Ministry of Health, visit health facilities, and better understand the health landscape. Following meetings with the Minister of Health, who was also serving as Premier at the time, NCDs were identified as one of the island’s health sector priorities. The country decided to introduce tools to support implementation of the HEARTS initiative, including for quality improvement. 

With support from the University of the West Indies, Anguilla had begun developing a national hypertension registry, which was launched in January 2025 alongside the HEARTS initiative. Throughout the year, the NCD team worked collaboratively with PAHO to successfully implement the initiative across all three of the country’s health facilities. Anguilla regularly conducts monitoring and evaluation and continues to serve as a regional reference for HEARTS implementation in the Eastern Caribbean. 

Anguilla’s steadfast commitment to improving health outcomes has strengthened patient adherence and promoted regular internal audits to ensure optimum operationalization of the program.

Photo caption: Demonstration of blood pressure self-testing

Credit: Anguilla National Chronic Disease Unit/Lavelle Niles