Over the last 10 to 15 years, various regional institutions in the Caribbean have developed protocols for the clinical management of chronic diseases.

In the late 1990s, the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI), developed a training manual on the dietary management of diabetes, hypertension and obesity, aimed at primary health workers.

Due to a widespread demand the manual, CFNI recognized the need for a formal protocol to be developed for use in primary settings. In collaboration with the Caribbean Program Coordination Office of the Pan American Health Organization (CPC/PAHO), CFNI embarked on the development of a regional protocol for the nutritional management of diabetes, hypertension and obesity.