A report released by health officials on Wednesday reveals that at least one clinic in The Bahamas the percentage of children born to Haitian mothers in 2003 was greater than those born to Bahamian mothers.
The report on the “Impact of Immigrants of Haitian and Other National Origins on Health Care and Environmental Services” also says “relatively large, sub-standard immigrant communities have emerged”.
The report says data from the Civil Registration system of the Office of the Registrar General show that in 2003, among all births occurring in The Bahamas, 81.8 percent was to mothers born in the Bahamas and 559 or 11.2 percent to mothers born in Haiti.
On average annually, there were 548 births in The Bahamas among women who were born in Haiti.
The report says that in 1998, 9.7 percent of mothers giving births was Haitians, while 83.9 percent was Bahamian; in 1999, 13.2 percent was Haitian mothers, 79.6 percent was Bahamian; in 2000, 15.2 percent was Haitians, 78.4 percent was Bahamians; and in 2001, 13.6 was Haitians, while 80 percent was Bahamians.
Jamaicans and other nationals, meanwhile, made up smaller percentages during these years.
The data also shows that at the Marsh Harbour Clinic, 76 or 63 percent of all infants born in 2003 was to Haitian mothers while 45 or 38 percent was born to Bahamian mothers.
The report says this became the first district in which the number of infants born to Haitians was greater that the number of infants born to Bahamians.
Data from the Coopers Town Clinic also reveal that of the 31 women who delivered in 2003, 51.6 percent was Bahamians and 48.4 percent was Haitian nationals.
The report also says that during that year, a total of 5,701 visits were made to the Coopers Town Clinic. Haitian nationals accounted for 906 or 16 percent of the total visits. The data again revealed that the reproductive and child health services were heavily utilized.
Statistics at the Marsh Harbour clinic reveal that a total of 14,077 visits were made by clients in the Marsh Harbour district. Out of this total, 3,703 or 26 percent of the visits was made by Haitian nationals.
Further analysis showed that reproductive and child health services were heavily utilized.
The report says Bahamians, Haitians and Jamaicans comprised about 98 percent of patients hospitalized at the Princess Margaret Hospital in 2003.
“Among defined causes of morbidity ranked for PMH in 2003, as with Bahamians and Jamaicans, the leading cause of morbidity among Haitian nationals was related to pregnancy, childbirth and the Puerperium (the time during which the mother’s altered anatomy, physiology and biochemistry returns to the non-pregnant state),” the report says.
It adds that emergency room data by country of origin for 2003 showed that at PMH, Bahamians comprised 90 percent of visits, while 6 percent was Haitians. Proportions at the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport were slighting lower at 87 percent and 4 percent respectively for the same year.
The Ministry of Health says, “While our activities in disease surveillance, prevention and control have reduced incidences of transmission of infectious diseases, Haitian immigrants currently represent approximately 28 percent of HIV/AIDS infections, 21 percent of tuberculosis infections; and 67 percent of malaria infections in the country.”
The report says while the total cost of the provision of all of health care services was not determined as a component of the report, the utilization of services by Haitians and other immigrants is evident.
“Of particular note is the demand for services at primary health care facilities for antenatal, postnatal and child health services, and the activities of the Department of Environmental Health Services in vector control and removal of solid and bulk waste from immigrant communities on the island of New Providence,” the report adds.
“This undoubtedly has implications for the budget allocation of the ministry and its departments, and one may deduce that unforeseen expenditure resulting from sporadic migration can contribute to the inability of any ministry to adequately provide services that it is mandated to provide.”
Based on the findings of the report, health officials made several recommendations. These include: Create national unique identifiers for all residents. This will enhance the Ministry of Health’s and other government agencies’ ability in assessing the extent of the utilization of services by immigrant populations and facilitate improved planning of activities to more effectively and efficiently deal with the challenge of service delivery.
The report also recommends enhancing collaboration among government agencies; and revisiting the existing fee schedule at primary health care facilities and the public hospitals, as the cost of service provision exceeds the revenue intake for many of the services offered.
Other recommendations were to ensure that the enforcement of laws and policies pertaining to border initiatives is maintained; sustain enforcement of existing laws as they relate to immigration, citizenship, town planning and building control.
Finally, the report recommends that dialogue begin with a view to making a policy decisions on the development of programmes to specifically address public health and environmental issues of immigrant communities.
Speaking to the impact of immigrants on environmental health services, the report says legal and illegal immigrants, who are predominantly of Haitian nationality along with their descendants, reside in substandard immigrant communities.
“Residential structures of various sizes are erected in an ad hoc faction, clustered on parcels of land without identifiable boundaries,” the report says.
“Typically these communities are overcrowded, with limited sanitary toilet facilities, and poor garbage and solid waste handling. These conditions result in serious challenges related to vector and rodent control.”
By: Bianca Symonette, The Bahama Journal
