At a time when Barbados is spending between $375m and $825m annually treating non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the government is turning to the food industry as a key partner in helping to reverse the country’s growing health crisis.

Speaking at the opening of the Engagement with the Food Industry for Healthier Food Environments at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, junior health minister Davidson Ishmael said the country could no longer afford to focus only on treating illness.

“We are spending … a minimum $375m to $825m dollars is going into treating NCDs on a yearly basis. That’s a lot of millions.