Perry Gomez - Bahamas Immigration Department
Health, Ministry of
Poinciana Building Meeting & Augusta Street
P. O. Box N 3730
Nassau, N.P., The Bahamas
Email: healthgeneral@bahamas.gov.bs
Phone: (242)502-4700 (242)502-4877
Fax: (242)502-4711
(242)325-5421 (PS)
(242)325-5421 (Min)
Biography
HON. DR. PERRY GOMEZ
MP – NORTH ANDROS & THE BERRY ISLANDS
THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS
Dr. Perry Gomez was appointed by Prime Minister Perry Christie to chair a Blue Ribbon Commission that investigated and designed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Scheme in 2006. Universal health care for all Bahamians is near and dear to the heart of Dr. Gomez as he believes this to be a human right and not a privilege.
Political highlights: Dr. Gomez was sworn in as Minister of Health on May 10, 2012.
His current Ministerial portfolio includes:
Public Health
Vaccination
Poisons
Vector Control
Quarantine
Port Health
Medical, Nursing and Health Services
Regulation of Manufacturing of Drugs and Pharmaceuticals
Control of Dangerous Drugs
Public Analyst Laboratories
Relations with the Public Hospitals Authority
Relations with Hospitals and Health Care Facilities
Relations with Health Care Professionals Boards
Education: Dr. Gomez was born and raised in the Berry Islands, just north of New Providence, Bahamas. Upon graduation from High School, Perry studied at the University of the West Indies where he earned a degree in medicine in 1971. Immediately thereafter he proceeded to Wayne State University where he specialised in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. This preparation began an exciting and eventful life of selfless and unsurpassed public health service in The Bahamas. He has also published widely with his most celebrated work being his contribution to “Fourth Generation Enzyme linked to Immuno-Absorbent Assay for the Simultaneous Detection of HIV Antigen and Antibody”.
Civics/Social: Dr. Gomez has used his vast professional and leadership skills to assist our Caribbean sister nations in the fight against HIV/AIDS. He is the Standing Chair of the Executive Council of the Caribbean HIV and AIDS Regional Training Initiative; serves as Co-Chair of the regional initiative for the Elimination of Vertical Transmission of HIV and Syphilis and is a member of the Executive Board of PANCAP. Internationally, Dr. Gomez has served on various technical advisory bodies of PAHO/ WHO, UNAIDS and the Clinton Foundation. It is against this background of solid performance that Dr. Gomez has been the recipient of several prestigious awards.
In 1998, he received the “Merit Award of the Government of the Bahamas” for contribution to Medicine; in 2003, he was admitted to the Most Excellent of the Order of the British Empire; in 2005, he was named “Civil Society Person of the Year of The Bahamas”; also in 2005, he was recognised as The Bahama Journal’s “Person of the Year” and in 2010, received the coveted “Sir Linden Pindling Award for Excellence.”
As the Bahama Journal summed it up in its tribute of 2005, “the good doctor has been the epitome of what world class is all about and we have a responsibility to reward excellence”. In 2010, Dr. Michael Perry Gomez was the recipient of the PANCAP Award for Excellence for his remarkable accomplishments and lifetime of distinguished service. PANCAP is the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS.
Professional/Career: Dr. Gomez, a career public servant, has devoted his entire professional life to improving the life, health and welfare of the Bahamian people in addition to our Caribbean neighbours. For more than three decades, he placed his considerable and renowned skills as an internist and infectious disease specialist to the service of the people of The Bahamas and, indeed, the wider Caribbean. Dr. Gomez is internationally known and recognised for his work in the National HIV response in The Bahamas. This pioneer is the founder and Director of the National HIV Programme of the Bahamas and, as a complementary initiative, also founded the AIDS Clinical Services Programme at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau. Under Dr. Gomez’s leadership, HIV transmission rates in The Bahamas have declined by more than 30%; HIV transmission from mother-to-child has all but disappeared; 72% of all persons with advanced HIV receive requisite treatment, while 100% of all persons with HIV and TB co-infection receive full treatment for both conditions.