Q&A with Stephanie Whiteman, Healthy Food Policy Fellow
Stephanie Whiteman is a Healthy Food Policy Fellow at Vital Strategies, one of nine fellows pursuing individual fields of study to bridge the research gaps and contribute to healthier food environments in the Food Policy Program’s focus countries. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Stephanie has lived in Barbados for the past six years, where she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Epidemiology at the University of West Indies. Several of the research projects she is working toward focus on creating healthier food environment through policy. In May, Stephanie attended the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland as a youth advocate for the NCD Child Young Leaders Program. She shared some takeaways from that event, and what it means for her work moving forward.
From your perspective, what was the most significant outcome of the 75th World Health Assembly?
This year’s World Health Assembly was particularly monumental in that it was the first time noncommunicable diseases occupied such a large portion of the agenda. I was pleased to see that this was on everyone’s radar. One of the main outcomes of the assembly was the approval of the “omnibus” resolution to address noncommunicable diseases. These global commitments to the NCD agenda left me feeling inspired and motivated to continue my work promoting healthy food policies.