The Tribune

By DR KENNETH D KEMP

IN 1492 when Christopher Columbus landed in the islands of The Bahamas, there was an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 Arawak Indians called Lucayans already inhabiting the region. Historians believe that the Lucayans populated the islands for at least eight centuries.

They made pottery from burned conch shells and red clay. They grew crops like sweet potato, corn, pineapple, guava and cassava for personal consumption and to trade with neighboring countries like Cuba. In his journal, Columbus described the Lucayans as handsome and friendly but just 25 years after his landing, the Lucayan population was entirely decimated by slavery and diseases hitherto foreign to them like influenza, smallpox and malaria. Following this, the islands remained unpopulated for another 130 years until a group of English men from Bermuda known as the Eleutheran adventurers settled on the islands in 1647.

Today, many Lucayan traditions remain intact. Though cooking methods and recipes have changed, Bahamians still grow crops the Lucayans and Tainos grew. We still savour meals prepared of fish, crab and conch. We remain God-fearing and religious and live in family-centric closely built communities. The Lucayans inhabited this land long before we did, but their traditions and lessons are soaked into the soil and encrusted in the salt of our ocean and the roots of our plants. Deeply encoded within our DNA, these traditions are invaluable portals to our past, passed down over successive generations, and fiercely guarded year after year by the same sun and stars.

Perhaps nowhere is it more critical in impact than in our continual trust in strangers who at first glance appear to be bearing gifts. It’s a lesson we should have learned but managed with all our experience, technology and education to avoid. When we ignore lessons that could save our lives and shun those with only short-lived resonance, we pay the price and we paid it heavily by ignoring our instincts and overlooking our traditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was not that long ago when this country and many parts of the world were stagnated by government-enforced lockdowns. The world economy was in a free fall and the fragility of life was omni-present.

This past week marked the fifth anniversary since the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus disease 2019 (abbreviated as COVID-19) a pandemic. Given the timing, I wanted today’s report to reflect on the lessons the pandemic taught us - which it would appear we’ve unfortunately forgotten or, even worse, simply never learned.

On December 12, 2019, multiple patients in Wuhan, China began exhibiting atypical pneumonia-like symptoms that weren’t responding to conventional medication. On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization tracked the source of their symptoms to the Huanan wholesale seafood market. The following day, the Chinese market was shut down and on January 3, 2020 there were about 40 cases of this atypical pneumonia. By January 19, there were 278 cases in China, two cases in Thailand, one in Japan and one in South Korea. The first laboratory confirmed case occurred in Washington on January 20, 2020 and on January 23, 2020 the city of Wuhan with a population of 11 million people was placed on lockdown.

On March 11, 2020 when the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, there were 4,291 deaths amongst 118,000 cases in 114 countries. The first confirmed case in The Bahamas was reported on March 15, 2020 in a 61-year-old woman with no recent travel history. By May 2023 when the World Health Organization declared an end to the pandemic, however, there were more than 38,000 cases and 844 deaths in The Bahamas alone. Worldwide 705 million people have been infected. Of those, there have been a staggering seven million confirmed deaths and up to 33 million suspected deaths globally marking COVID-19 as the fifth deadliest pandemic in the history of mankind.

The number one lesson that we should have learned during the pandemic is that we all need one another. The forced isolation ironically reminded us that in order to thrive, the rest of the world had to unite. There were global shortages in masks, gowns, gloves, medical equipment, vaccines and other life-saving medication and supplies. So, third-world countries that don’t manufacture them or have the resources to purchase them in bulk became heavily reliant on external aid. If nothing else, it was a stark reminder that our public health sector requires tangible strengthening across the board from better ventilation and isolation wards to improved infection protocols and access to medication.

Were another pandemic to start tomorrow, I don’t see how our public healthcare facilities will fare much better. In fact, our resources today may be more strained than they were five years ago.

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that wearing masks is useful in preventing the spread of disease but we no longer find them in airports, grocery stores and other public places were crowds gather, touch door knobs, stairway rails or pick up food at a salad bar. Even medical supply stores and pharmacies across the nation have short supply. Hand sanitizers at one point lined shelves in abundance but now a sudden blink and you’ll walk right past them where they can be found reduced to a discounted price of 50 cents per bottle; less than the price of some chewing gum and chocolate.

There is only one grocery chain that still fills its hand sanitiser container regularly and one popular ice cream shop on Cable Beach that is so diligent about hand sanitizer that the security guard reinforces the requirement to utilise it before picking up a cup to fill. Hundreds of other shops and offices have removed the dispenser from the wall, as if to say we are safe now, no problem. But the recent spate of flu tells us otherwise. It is imperative that we actively procure and stockpile personal protective equipment, diagnostic and medical equipment and expand our healthcare work force before another pandemic reaches our shores.

Studies have shown that obesity dramatically increased the risk of mortality from Covid-19. A report released by the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in January of this year reaffirmed that close to 50 percent of the country’s adult population is obese. This is approximately three times higher than the global average. Despite this, Bahamians have not altered their diet and outside of work still remain relatively sedentary.

The economies of nations all around the world collapsed during the pandemic and livelihoods were largely buoyed by government-backed social services initiatives. It was a moment of self-reflection that should have made individuals realize the importance of saving for a rainy day. Once the pandemic ended, however, there was a knee-jerk return to status quo and Bahamians have universally shelved the significance of pension plans and living within our means.

Additionally, Tele-medicine was instrumental in helping patients stay connected with their health-care providers at a time when going to the clinic was far too dangerous particularly for immuno-compromised patients with multiple co-morbidities. I felt that this offered long-term health care opportunities especially for patients on family islands with limited access to regular health care but half a decade later, the infrastructure hasn’t been put in place to readily diagnose and treat patients remotely so the onerous task of them traveling to Nassau for specialty doctor visits (not offered on most islands) still persists, though Eleuthera is an exception.

Finally, there’s been a disturbing rise in suicide attempts in The Bahamas since the pandemic, with more than 50 suicide attempts reported in 2023 alone. We need to take mental health more seriously and enact measures that allow persons suffering with depression and suicidal ideations easier access to professionals who can help. Legislation and policing efforts that limit access to firearms and frequently abused medication is crucial in this fight but such measures have yet to be enacted and/or readily enforced.

In his journal, Columbus wrote that when he landed in The Bahamas, the Lucayans offered him and his men food and water and asked if they’d come from heaven. It wouldn’t be long for them to realise that these were not the saviors they initially believed them to be.

The march of civilisation has been bloody and painful. The Lucayans were decimated but the core elements of how they lived still thrive today in so many Bahamians. So, why do these traditions persist while others more recently embraced have quickly fallen by the wayside? I suspect it’s because there are some traditions and lessons that we innately hold on to because of familial bonds. We simply don’t hold the same reverence for others that are externally imposed. With this understanding, it becomes incumbent upon us as a nation to remember the lessons we learned from the pandemic, abide by those that saved our lives and pass them down to our children. Because if the sobering statistics highlighted herein aren’t a wake-up call, I don’t know what is.

This is The KDK Report.

• Nicknamed ‘The Prince of Podiatry’, Dr Kenneth D Kemp is the founder and medical director of Bahamas Foot and Ankle located in Caves Village, Western New Providence. He served as the deputy chairman for the Health Council for five years and he currently sits on the board of directors for the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in his role as co-vice-chairman.