By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE Pan American Health Organisation’s Health in the Americas country profile has revealed The Bahamas ranked 15th in the region for the number of COVID-19 released deaths from 2020 and 2021.

That is a cumulative 1,781 deaths per million population over the two years under consideration.

The data showed that in 2021 The Bahamas was behind the United States, which was ranked 14th.

Currently, The Bahamas is ranked 32nd with 259.73 deaths per million population in the selected period in 2022.

The Bahamas peaked ahead of other countries with larger populations in 2021 - Canada ranked 42nd; Mexico ranked 17th; Barbados ranked 27th, Jamaica ranked 32nd; Guyana ranked 21st.

Peru ranked first for both 2020 and 2021.

PAHO’s country profile for The Bahamas added: “According to estimates by the World Health Organisation, there was a total of 334 excess deaths in 2020, or 85 per 100,000 population; a total of 667 deaths were estimated in 2021, for an excess mortality rate of 168 per 100,000.”

The country also had 955 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 14 deaths among health personnel between January 2020 to 30 November 2021.

This figure is higher than that of Jamaica, which has 861 cases and four deaths, and Haiti, with 781 cases and three deaths.

The organisation noted the latest available data is from 30 October 2021 for three countries as well as others.

Meanwhile, the country profile analysed other aspects of the general health, population, and difficulties The Bahamas faced.

Life expectancy at birth was 74.2 years in 2021 — lower than the average for the Region of the Americas and 3.2 years higher than in 2000, according to the report.

“In 2000, the total population of The Bahamas was 325,014 inhabitants; by 2021 this figure had risen to 407 906, representing a 25.5 percent increase. Regarding the country’s demographic profile, in 2021 people over 65 years of age accounted for 8.6 percent of the total population, an increase of 3.6 percentage points compared to the year 2000.

“In 2021, there were 109.2 women per 100 men and 43.7 older people (65 years or older) per 100 children under 15 years of age, as can be seen in the country’s population pyramids, distributed by age group and sex. Considering the population between 15 and 64 years of age to be potentially active (i.e., potential participants in the labour force), this group represented 71.8 percent of the total population of the country in 2020 (292,916 people).

“When these figures are added to the potentially passive population (80 042 under 15 years of age and 34 949 over 65 years of age), the result is a dependency ratio of 39.3 potentially passive people per 100 potentially active people. This ratio was 53.6 in 2000.”

The report also said that in 2019 the adjusted rate of potentially avoidable premature mortality in The Bahamas was 324.5 deaths per 100,000 population - a decrease of 26.9 percent from a rate of 443.9 in 2000.

“This meant that, in 2019, the rate in the country was 43.1 percent higher than the average rate reported for the Region of the Americas as a whole. Among potentially avoidable premature mortality, the rate for preventable causes was 171.5 per 100 000 population in 2019, which is 25.1 percent higher than the regional average rate; and the rate for treatable causes was 153 per 100,000 population, above the regional average of 89.6. The overall age-adjusted mortality rate was 7 per 1000 population in 2019, a decrease of 12.5 percent compared to 2000 (8 deaths per 1000 population),” the profile explained.

When deaths are categorised into three main groups, it is observed that, in 2019, the age-adjusted mortality rate from communicable diseases was 74.9 per 100 000 population (90.6 per 100 000 in men and 61.2 per 100 000 in women), while the age-adjusted mortality rate from noncommunicable diseases was 525.4 per 100 000 population (623.8 per 100 000 in men and 446.5 per 100 000 in women).”

“The rate of age-adjusted mortality from external causes was 91.8 per 100 000 population (148.8 per 100 000 in men and 39.1 per 100 000 in women), including road traffic accidents (7.4 per 100 000 population), homicides (36.4 per 100 000 population) and suicides (3.4 per 100 000 population). In 2000, the percentage distribution of causes was 60.1 percent for non-communicable diseases, 29.2 percent for communicable diseases, and 10.8 percent for external causes; in 2019, the percentages were 75.4 percent, 10.7 percent, and 13.9 percent, respectively.”

Between 2000 and 2019, infant mortality in The Bahamas increased from 14.8 to 19.4 deaths per 1000 live births, an increase of 31.1 percent.

The country profile also highlighted challenges related to population health, mentioning The Bahamas population is aging, and the pace of this aging is predicted to increase.

“In 1980, the proportion of The Bahamas population aged 65 and older was 4.1 percent. This proportion increased to an estimated 7.7 percent by 2020, and is predicted to rise to 19.9 percent by 2060. This future 40-year increase of 12.1 percentage points is above the regional average for the Caribbean of 10.7 percentage points, but below the average for the Americas of 13.7 percentage points,” the profile read.

“This demographic transition is in part due to important progress in reducing the burden of infectious diseases. In 2000, HIV/AIDS was the main cause of death and disability in The Bahamas, accounting for 14 percent of all healthy life lost.”

“By 2019, this burden had been reduced by two-thirds, to 4.8 percent of all healthy life lost. Cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and diabetes in 2019 were the top three causes of death and disability, collectively accounting for 38.4 percent of all healthy life lost. The burden of self-harm and violence, and unintentional injuries collectively accounted for 11.8 percent of all healthy life lost in 2019, a rise of one-third since 2000. Solutions to each of these challenges require multi-sectoral cooperation.”