The Tribune

THIS past Tuesday the country said farewell to Dr Michael Perry Gomez, who demonstrated extraordinary compassion and service as a medical doctor and public servant throughout his professional life.

He served as a member of parliament, as Minister of Health, and as a former president of the Medical Association of The Bahamas. But he is best known for his groundbreaking work as director of the National HIV/AIDS Programme. He also created the AIDS Clinical Services Programme at Princess Margaret Hospital.

Dr. Gomez has been described as: “A true Caribbean patriot”, “the patron saint of the national HIV response in the Bahamas”, and as a “pioneer”. In a 2005 tribute, the Bahama Journal observed: “The good doctor has been the epitome of what world class is all about.”

Perry Gomez was a graduate of the University of the West Indies, where he earned his medical degree. He was fondly remembered as a gentlemen by many of the Bahamian and Caribbean students who attended UWI with him in Jamaica.

He went on to specialise in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Wayne State University in Michigan. His work went well beyond The Bahamas.

The Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) was established by a Declaration of the Caricom Heads of Government in February 2001, “in response to the threat of HIV to sustainable human development.”

In its tribute to Dr Gomez after he passed away, PANCAP noted: “Fiercely committed to the cause of the Caribbean, Dr. Perry Gomez never plied his trade elsewhere. For more than three decades, he placed his renowned skills as an internist and infectious disease specialist at the complete disposal of the people of the Bahamas and, indeed, the wider Caribbean.”

He served as the standing chair of the executive council of the Caribbean HIV and AIDS Regional Training Initiative and as a co-chair of the regional initiative for the Elimination of Vertical Transmission of HIV and Syphilis.

He also served on the executive board of PANCAP and on a number of technical advisory bodies of the World Health Organization, the Pan-American Health Organization, UNAIDS, and the Clinton Foundation.

As reported in The Tribune: “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.”

PANCAP noted that because of Dr Gomez’s work: “HIV transmission from mother-to-child had all but disappeared, 72 percent of all persons with advanced HIV received requisite treatment, while 100 percent of all persons with HIV and TB co-infection received full treatment for both conditions.”

At the beginning of the epidemic when there was considerable fear and ignorance about the disease, Dr Gomez demonstrated his duty of care and understanding for those suffering from the syndrome.

While some doctors shied away from treating those with HIV/AIDS, and even as gay men were demonised, he became the leading Bahamian expert on the disease, gaining a stellar regional and international reputation for combating the disease.

He went to the forefront of the fight at the onset of the epidemic in the early 1980s, helping to save lives by advocating for prevention, testing and treatment.

The late Roman Catholic Archbishop Lawrence Burke, SJ, also placed the Church on the frontline through Samaritan Ministries, a collaboration, which was led by Sister Clare Rolle, OSB, for many years.

Also on the frontline was Lady Camille Barnett, longtime president of the AIDS Foundation, an indefatigable leader. Along with others, she has offered decades of service and deep empathy.

Amidst the ignorance, fear and demonisation during much of the epidemic, there were a number of people who lent their moral energies and varied resources to care for those living with or dying from the disease.

The first Caribbean HIV Conference, which was held in The Bahamas, was an occasion for both the country and the good doctor to be recognised for the various successes in combating HIV/AIDS.

These successes were many in terms of intensive prevention awareness and education efforts; aggressive medical treatment, including in mother-to-child transmission for pregnant women; and measures to address stigma and discrimination in various areas related to the disease.

Through his foundation former US President Bill Clinton honoured Dr. Gomez and recognised The Bahamas as an international leader in the fight against AIDS.

Dr Gomez burnished his medical and moral credibility in fighting the disease through dogged advocacy and by journeying as a doctor and as a friend to many who succumbed to the disease and others living with HIV.

In his address to the HIV/AIDS Conference back then, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham touted the bipartisan support for fighting the disease: “The Bahamas has been a leader in developing legislation to protect the rights of minorities and others living with HIV. In 1991, The Bahamas was the first country in the region to decriminalise homosexuality.

“The Bahamas was the only Caribbean country to sign the Paris Declaration in 1994 which set global standards for HIV and human rights. We also strengthened protection from discrimination for HIV positive individuals in the workplace by amendment to the existing labour laws in 2001.”

Experts understood the vital role that the reduction in stigma played in preventing the disease, treating those affected, and reducing the incidence of the disease. Decades after the onslaught of the epidemic there is still much to be done, especially on the prevention side.

But the medicine available today to treat the disease and various preventive medicines have helped to turn the tide on the incidence of mortality of the disease. Those of a younger generation do not remember the extraordinary fear of HIV in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

In an Eyewitness News story last September, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville noted that The Bahamas has “come a long way” in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The news site reported: “Darville said that the National HIV and AIDS programme continues to show encouraging results.

“He said The Bahamas’ efforts are aligned with the UNAIDS global fast-track strategy to end AIDS by 2030 with targets of having 95 percent of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status; 95 percent of people who know their status on treatment; and 95 percent of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.”

Darville stated: “The Bahamas has reached the moment where we can say that tremendous progress has been made and [the] end of the AIDS epidemic is in sight.”

While we have come a long way in fighting the epidemic and the associated prejudice, we still need to be vigilant on both fronts. In a story in this journal last year, Lady Barnett stressed: “There is still no cure out there. HIV/AIDS is still out there. Everyone needs to know their status so that they can stay negative or take the next steps if they are positive. It is still important to know the status of your partner, to have one partner and to stay faithful to that one partner, unless you choose to be abstinent. Both messages are still important, so we need to get out there.”

In 2010, PANCAP honoured Dr Gomez with its Award for Excellence “because of his remarkable accomplishments, together with a lifetime of distinguished service to public health". He also received a number of national awards and honours.

But for the unassuming Perry Gomez, his greater satisfaction and reward, were the lives he saved, the patients to whom he administered with a duty of care, and the service he offered to the country he loved and to which he devoted his entire professional life.

The world’s moral heroes come in many forms. Often, they are people like Dr Perry Gomez and the others who have sought to uphold the moral dignity and human rights of those living with HIV/AIDS.

At the end of his life, he was fortunate to have the dutiful care and companionship of his wife of 54 years, Carmen, his dedicated caregiver, along with his children, Michael and Camille, and siblings, relatives, friends, and colleagues who are grateful for his life, along with many other Bahamians.

We bid him farewell with gratitude and deep appreciation!