Dr Elizabeth Ferdinand

Elizabeth Mary-Rose Ferdinand, MB.BS, MPH was born in Guyana and received her  secondary education in Guyana and England. She then entered the University of the West Indies Medical Faculty at Mona, Jamaica to read for her MB, BS which she obtained in 1973 with honors in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She proceeded to the United Kingdom to do her internship at the St Mary's Hospital and  the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in London. The following year she held several part time posts in clinics in London before returning to the Caribbean in 1975.

Dr Ferdinand was appointed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados in 1976 where she served in the Accident and Emergency Department, the laboratory and the Paediatric Department. She was then transferred to the National Nutrition Center where she assisted Sir Frank Ramsey with the treatment and prevention of malnutrition in children. While there, she was involved in the international research work that was done on the effects of malnutrition on brain development. It was during this time that she developed her love for the specialty of Public Health. This led her to Harvard School of Public Health in Boston USA on a scholarship from the Pan American Health Organization to study for the Masters in Public Health which she obtained in 1980.

On her return to Barbados she was appointed Medial Officer of Health in primary health care services and then promoted to Senior Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, first in charge of the environment and then primary health care. During her years of service she has mentored medical students, interns, junior doctors and other health professionals in the principals of primary health care.

She has been instrumental in having Barbados declared polio, measles, rubella and CRS free. She has led the team in the introduction of several new vaccines to ensure the country is free from vaccine  preventable diseases. Her work in disaster management has prepared the Barbados health sector to be responsive to any disasters. She has assisted other Caribbean Islands in the areas of immunization and disaster management. She has also worked as Chief Medical Officer for the country in charge of all medical services.