NASSAU, Bahamas - The Bahamas has officially welcomed newly appointed Pan-American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation representative, Dr. Merle Lewis, who will focus on reducing the high incidences of death caused by chronic diseases.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon. Brent Symonette accepted Dr. Lewis’ Letters of Credence during a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Monday. He said the government and PAHO/WHO would continue on the path towards improving the delivery of health care in The Bahamas.

"We have had a long relationship with the Government of The Bahamas and we are very pleased with the arrangements," said Dr. Lewis; an epidemiology and public health professional.

Dr. Lewis was officially appointed February 29, 2008 during an installation ceremony in Washington D.C. She is representative of the Pan-American Health Organisation; the regional office of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the Americas.

She received her Doctor of Public Health Degree in Immunology and Infectious Diseases from the School of Epidemiology & Public Health; John’s Hopkins University, Baltimore Maryland; a Master of Public Health Degree (Honours) in Infectious Disease Epidemiology; Yale University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology and Chemistry from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago.

Dr. Lewis worked in the United States and the Caribbean, serving as regional advisor at the Vaccine Research and Development Immunisation Unit; PAHO, in Washington, D.C.

Her focus for The Bahamas is to provide support and technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Social Development as it carries out various health initiatives.

A work plan has already been developed and agreed to with PAHO/WHO key stakeholder – the Ministry of Health, she said.

"The work plan attempts to support the country which has identified some of its needs and areas it thinks PAHO and WHO can support them. So essentially my role is to ensure that the work plan is delivered within the budget. My role is to also mobilise financial resources and technical resources to support the discharge and execution of the work plan," Dr. Lewis said.

"So, really we want to work with the Ministry of Health to also focus on this area of chronic diseases which we also call lifestyle diseases, to see how the population can understand some of the issues and live healthier lives," she said.

Latest statistics from the Ministry of Health and Social Development show that the prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and cancers account for 57 percent of all deaths in The Bahamas. It is also estimated that approximately 10 percent of the country’s population is living with diabetes, with the prevalence being higher in females than males.

Diabetes accounts for approximately five to 10 percent of the nation’s health budget and is among the leading cause of hospitalisation and death of all age groups affected.

According to WHO, more than 230 million people worldwide are living with diabetes and it is projected that this number will exceed 333 million by 2025 with 80 percent of the increase occurring in low and middle-income countries.

Dr. Lewis commended The Bahamas for its "successful" initiatives towards reducing the number of cases and the transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus from mother to foetus.

She said however, that people need to understand that AIDS is not the leading cause of death as is being perceived.

"Rather, we have a large epidemic of chronic diseases such as diabetes, strokes, heart diseases, which results from certain kinds of risk factors such as hypertension, obesity and high cholesterol," Dr. Lewis said.

The Bahamas became a member of the Pan American Health Organisation in 1974. A satellite unit of PAHO Jamaica was established in the country in 1978 and in 1982 a full country office with a representative came into being.

The Bahamas has made achievements with the assistance of PAHO over the last three decades in the following areas: