The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FAMILY, friends, and members of Parliament gathered at the St Agnes Anglican Church yesterday to lay to rest Dr Perry Gomez, the former minister of health remembered by the prime minister as “a man for all seasons.”

The former health minister, whose work was critical in the fight against HIV/AIDS, died on October 21 at the age of 76.

Recalling his life and legacy yesterday, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said: “As a physician, medical scientist, public administrator, legislator and Cabinet minister, his life epitomised the very spirit of selflessness, commitment and dedication to improving the health and well being of the Bahamian people.”

“From his ground-breaking work to reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV to pioneering partnerships that made crucial medications more accessible to our people, he left an indelible mark.”

 Among his many contributions, Dr Gomez founded and directed the National HIV Programme of The Bahamas and created the AIDS Clinical Services Programme at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

 Under his leadership, HIV transmission rates in The Bahamas declined by more than 30 per cent, and HIV transmission from mother to child decreased dramatically.

 Mr Davis said Dr Gomez’s reputation was known worldwide.

 He recalled a conversation last year when former US President Bill Clinton asked for Dr Gomez and later spoke with Dr Gomez’s wife over the phone for about 20 minutes.

 The prime minister said the two had worked closely together to stop the spread of AIDS in the region.

 “Clinton reflected on the times they had travelled to India to source affordable medications, and he also spoke warmly of the treatment protocols developed by Dr Gomez, the success of those protocols, and, as a result, the many lives that were both touched and saved.”

 Mr Davis was one of several people who paid tribute to Dr Gomez in a service punctuated with praise and worship songs.

 Retired Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez, who delivered the sermon, described him as a “doctor for others.”

 “Although Perry had no claim to sainthood,” he said, “his outstanding achievements in the medical arena were all in the service of the principal enunciated by St Paul. Perry consistently demonstrated a self-giving sacrificial commitment to the furtherance of healing and human wellness, not for the sake of personal aggrandisement but to serve others, to serve others for the common good and for the flourishing of humanity, especially in The Bahamas.”