Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Michael Darville has announced plans for the construction of nine new clinics in The Bahamas. These clinics, designed to be climate-friendly, will also serve as hurricane shelters, providing a crucial infrastructure to protect the population during severe weather events.
The specific locations for these facilities have not yet been disclosed. Dr. Darville shared this initiative while addressing the impact of climate change on healthcare during a meeting with Dr. Barbosa da Silva, Jr., the newly appointed Director of the Pan American Health Organization.
The meeting with Dr. Barbosa was one of several engagements attended by Dr. Darville, following his leadership of a delegation to the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
Highlighting the vulnerability of small island developing states to climate change, Dr. Darville emphasized the urgent need for climate-resilient facilities. He emphasized that these new clinics, designed to withstand gale-force winds and hurricane conditions, would contribute to the uninterrupted delivery of primary healthcare services, which are often severely disrupted during devastating cyclones with wind speeds exceeding 200 miles per hour. The minister also drew attention to the destructive impact of storm surges, citing a previous hurricane that brought a surge of twenty feet.
Climate change stands as the foremost challenge affecting healthcare services in The Bahamas. Recognizing this, Dr. Darville outlined the government’s commitment to addressing this critical issue and ensuring the provision of quality healthcare even in the face of climate-related challenges.
Dr. Darville also discussed the digitization efforts of his ministry, highlighting the progress made in e-clinical records and the integration of island-wide emergency medical transport systems, including air transport for tertiary care cases.
Regarding healthcare personnel, Dr. Darville mentioned the close ties between The Bahamas and Cuba. The country often recruits healthcare professionals from Cuba, acknowledging the surplus of medical experts willing to provide services abroad. While The Bahamas pays for these services, Dr. Darville expressed the challenges faced in this regard, as such recruitment efforts are sometimes misinterpreted.
The World Health Assembly, in which these discussions took place, concludes today. Key topics dominating this year’s agenda include the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and universal health coverage.
Dr. Phillip Swann, Registrar in the Chief Medical Officer’s office, emphasized the need to enhance mechanisms for data collection on health systems and outcomes in The Bahamas. He highlighted that a systemic review had raised concerns about the country’s ability to meet its targets in this regard
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