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Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015

C ommo nwe a l t h memb e r c o u n t r i e s recent survey, conducted between 1997 and 2009, there were 105 doctors, and 447 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, 92 per cent of oneyear olds were immunised with one dose of measles. In 2010, 100 per cent of the country’s population had access to adequate sanitation facilities. In the most recent survey, conducted in 2008, there were 48 pharmaceutical personnel per 100,000 people. There are numerous medical centres and health care facilities throughout The Bahamas, including a few public and private hospitals, a psychiatric hospital, a geriatric hospital and a private clinic that undertakes cosmetic surgery. The largest hospital, and the country’s premier referral centre, is the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau. Pharmaceuticals constitute a major export for The Bahamas. In addition to manufacturing firms, many leading international pharmaceutical companies have local representations in the country. The Bahamas Pharmacy Council provides regulation and control of practice, registration and licensing within the industry. In 2012 the council resolved to eradicate illicit and illegal pharmacy practices. Current mental health legislation dates back to 1969, the year the Mental Health Act was promulgated, although there have been revisions in the 2000s in an effort to protect the well-being and rights of mental health patients. 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. To achieve MDG 4, The Bahamas should have reduced under-five deaths per 1,000 live births to eight and increased measles immunisation to 100 per cent by 2015. In 2013 under-five mortality was approximately 13 deaths per 1,000 live births, showing a decrease from 17 in 2012. Measles immunisation was at 92 per cent in 2012, showing a slight improvement from 2011. These figures suggest that significant progress will need to be made in order to achieve MDG 4 when the 2015 data is analysed. Improved maternal health is also a specific requirement of the MDGs. To this effect, MDG 5 requires the reduction of the number of maternal deaths by three-quarters in the period 1990–2015. When applying this target to The Bahamas, maternal mortality Under-five mortality 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Under-five mortality per 1,000 live births 2015 MDG 4 target 25 20 15 10 Life expectancy and HIV/AIDS 30 80 70 140 Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 5 Mortality by cause of death (% of all deaths), 2012 Communicable diseases, Injuries maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions Non-communicable 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 25 20 15 10 5 0 1980 1990 2000 2013 Prevalence of HIV/AIDS among those aged 15–49 Life expectancy Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15-49) Life expectancy in years 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 60


Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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