The most commonly diagnosed mental illness in Antigua and Barbuda is schizophrenia. Health systems: In 2012 government expenditure on health was 3.9 per cent of GDP, equivalent to US$514 per capita. In the most recent survey conducted, between 1997 and 2009, there were 17 doctors, and 328 nurses and midwives per 100,000 people. Additionally, in the period 2007–12, 99 per cent of births were attended by qualified health staff and in 2013, 98 per cent of oneyear olds were immunised with one dose of measles. The country is divided into six medical districts and a district medical officer is appointed to provide medical services in each district. The provision of primary health care is delivered through health centres that are located within a 3-km radius of every major settlement. The country’s public health system has a National Drug Formulary that provides a total of 360 different drugs, guaranteeing availability of medication to all people suffering from chronic conditions. The Ministry of Health is responsible for the health of the nation and is financed mainly through allocations from the Ministry of Finance. The current mental health laws under the Mental Treatment Ordinance have been in place since 1957. Health MDGs: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) mature in 2015, but monitoring of progress is ongoing due to the time it takes to collect and analyse data from each country. For Antigua and Barbuda to achieve its target for the reduction of child mortality, which forms MDG 4, the country should have reduced under-five deaths per 1,000 live births to nine and increased measles immunisation to 100 per cent when the 2015 data is analysed. Using the most recent data (2013), under-five mortality is approximately nine deaths per 1,000 live births and measles immunisation is at 98 per cent. While this data indicates that Antigua and Barbuda is not far from achieving MDG 4, the figures were closer to meeting their targets in 2011. The global MDG 5 target for maternal health is to reduce the number of women who die in pregnancy and childbirth by threequarters between 1990 and 2015. Part of the goal stipulates that 100 per cent of births must be attended by a skilled health professional. In the period 2006–10 this figure stood at 99 per cent and so was very close to being achieved. Under-five mortality 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Under-five mortality per 1,000 live births 2015 MDG 4 target 30 25 20 15 10 5 Life expectancy 80 Life expectancy Life expectancy in years 1980 1990 2000 2013 Diabetes Respiratory diseases 70 60 Mortality by cause of death (% of all deaths), 2008 Other NCDs Communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional Injuries Cardiovascular Cancer diseases Tuberculosis: Incidence and mortality 1990 2000 2010 Mortality excluding cases comorbid with HIV (per100,000 people) Incidence of tuberculosis (per 100,000 people) – including cases comorbid with HIV 15 12 9 6 3 0 A n t i g u a a n d B a r b u d a Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 133
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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