Bermuda is a part of the United Kingdom’s territory but an overseas group of islands. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and has its capital at Hamilton. It consists of seven major islands that have bridges between them that enable transport as well as more than 100 islands that come together to create the island. With its constitution and autonomy of domestic affairs, the British government overseas territorial defense as well as foreign affairs. Therefore, the head of state is the monarch of British, currently Queen Elizabeth. She has a governor whom she appoints to represent her in the Bermuda who oversees defense and security. The mode of governance practised is the model of the Westminster parliament democracy. The government is headed by a Premier who has a cabinet, an elected House of Assembly, as well as an appointed Senate. With an approximate number of 61,695 people living in 54 square km of land (as per data available in 2016), the island has English as the official language while Portuguese is also largely spoken (Bradford, Das, & Saha, 2018).
Bermuda is known for its subtropical climate as well as beautiful beaches which attract people on vacations. Wildlife on the island is also another attraction to tourists which makes it such a popular tourist destination. Being not far from the USA, it also stands out as such a favorable place for tourists on vacation. This has greatly promoted its economy as it widens its scope towards financial services, business as well as construction. With one of the highest income per capita, the country enjoys a thriving economy. As of 2015, the country recorded an income per capita GDP of US $ 96,018 which puts it high on the economic map of the world (Leimbach, Kriegler, Roming, & Schwanitz, 2017).
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Bermuda does not have a definite healthcare plan for the whole entity. However, the employers are required to partner with the employees and contribute towards insurance covering the medical requirements of the individuals. It is mandatory that the employers provide 50% of the medical insurance required. There is no official healthcare plan, hence the model used can only be likened to the Bismarck model. The similarities in insurance coverage which are mandatory to everyone bring the two together. There are key differences, however. The hospitals in Bermuda are public including the major one; the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. The private health insurers make profits unlike in the Bismarck model. There also a few companies that are allowed to provide insurance services to residents of the island.
In 2008, Bermuda came up with a strategy, the National Health Promotion Strategy, which was aimed at establishing a developing a joint effort of stakeholders to promote health. It involved players from all sectors who have a stake at proving for health services and other requirements. Later, the 2014-2019 health strategy is aimed at promoting the health of people in their communities. The goal is to promote an effective health framework for increasing access to healthcare, improving its quality as well as working towards making health costs bearable. The Tobacco Control Act of 2015 was introduced in 2016 to curb the sale of tobacco to children and regulate cigarettes in a bid to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses. These are the available plans and strategies that Bermuda has involving the promotion of health among residents.
Other than its healthcare requirements and facilities available, the country also has certain obligations to be met by visitors or foreigners. Incoming persons have to have health insurance on themselves, taken in their home countries before being allowed into the territory. This is to cater for any health issues that may arise or in case of demises. This applies even for citizens under the British monarch rule, who would rather have some lenient requirements in countries with whom they share the monarch.
The mortality rates, according to the CIA World Factbook, in the years 2017 were at 8.6 per 1000 individuals in the island. This is a crude estimate but it provides a perspective on the data available on the island. Maternal deaths have been a rare occurrence in the recent past, as of 2015. Residents’ deaths in 2015 were 466 with a mortality rate of 663.86 in 100,000 people. According to data from the Pan American Health Organization, Health Information Platform, the highest mortality causes are diseases of the circulatory system (36%), neoplasms (28%) and diseases of the nervous system (9%).
Demographics indicate that as of 2016, the male to female ratio was 91:100. The life expectancy was 81.23 years as of 2016 at birth. An estimate of 81.4 years in 2017 is provided with male residents having one of 78.2 and women at 84.6 years. Almost 30 years ago, in 1990, there were regressive characteristics of the population pyramid but had stationary aspects below 30 years. After that, the pyramid has remained stationary. Bermuda ranks among the top 20 countries in aspects of demographics such as lowest unemployment rates, infant mortality rates, as well as among those with the highest life expectancy.
Due to emigration, there is a decrease in population expected in the 2010-2020 decade. A 4% decline is expected as more people depart. These changes in demographics in Bermuda play a vital role in its composition, economy as well as the provision of healthcare. Demographically, Bermuda is at stage 5 of development with a steady growth rate. The fertility levels are a bit lower than the replacement levels and the extra population comes with immigration. With levels way lower than those countries dealing with population explosions, Bermuda enjoys a relatively comfortable population growth. On the other hand, the rates are higher than those of first world countries, minimizing its risk of population shrinkage. Life quality is very high, even for an average Bermudian.
There are some social conclusions and noted aspects of the population that have been provided by the Pan American Health Organization. These factors have also and continue to play a role in healthcare in Bermuda. Unemployment was recorded at 7% in 2015 while between 2012 and 2015, there was a fluctuation between 6% and 9%. In those years, men had higher unemployment rates than their female counterparts. Free education is another factor in the island although emigration is common for further studies. Epidemiologically, the Zika virus was first reported in 2016 but it was an imported case. Cases of malaria and dengue fever have also been imported and they have been sporadic hence manageable. In the archipelago, there is still circulation of Influenza A(H1N1). Since 1982, there have been 767 cases of HIV infections recorded, up to 2015. Of all these cases, 565 had AIDs and 464 of them passed away. Chlamydia tops the charts among sexually transmitted infections with ages 20-24 being highly affected (Abdullah, Wood, & Kinsella, 2017). All of this data was up to 2015.
References
Abdullah, A., Wood, N., & Kinsella, S. (2017). A Comparison of Global Social Welfare Policies and Programs: The United States, Bermuda, Cuba, and Denmark. In 2016 NOHS National Conference–Tampa, FL (p. 18).
Bradford, S., Das, S. P., & Saha, A. (2018). Country Size, Per-Capita Income, And Comparative Advantage: Services Versus Manufacturing.
Leimbach, M., Kriegler, E., Roming, N., & Schwanitz, J. (2017). Future growth patterns of world regions–A GDP scenario approach. Global Environmental Change, 42, 215-225.
