History of the Medical Association of the Bahamas
The first medical association in The Bahamas, the Bahamas Medical Association (BMA) was formed in the early 1950s. it was quite natural that the doctors, the majority of whom were British born and trained, sought an affiliation with the British Medical Association. This was achieved in 1957, when doctors Paul Poad, Richard Corey and Andrew Esfakis led the Bahamas Branch of the British Medical Association (BMA-BB). Dr. Jan Steele-Perkins, Humphrey Bulleid, Walter Lorenz and Malcolm Hale were other prominent members of that body.
During the subsequent decade, the association separated from the British Medical Association and in 1969, the BMA-BB was dissolved and the Bahama Islands Medial Association (BIMA) was formed in its place. Almost simultaneously, a group of young Bahamian upstarts, led by Drs. Kirk Culmer, John Lunn, Norman Gay and Elwood Donaldson formed a separate association, the Bahamas Medical Association.
In 1970, Dr. Cecil Bethel, the new president of the BIMA and Dr. Kirtland Culmer, leader of the BMA president agreed to the joining of the two associations to form the Medical Association of the Bahamas (MAB). To date, the Medical Association of the Bahamas has remained the primary voice and advocate of the medical profession in the Bahamas. BMA-BB was dissolved and the Bahama Islands Medical Association (BIMA)
Past presidents of the MAB
| 1970-71 | Dr. Cecil Bethel | 1982-1983 | Dr. David Allen | 1998-2001 | Dr. Duane Sands |
| 1972-72 | Dr. Kirtland R. Culmer | 1984-1985 | Dr. Percival McNeil | 2002-2003 | Dr. Cyprian Strachan |
| 1974-75 | Dr. John Lunn | 1986-1987 | Dr. Eugene Newry | 2004-2005 | Dr. Linelle Haddox |
| 1976-1977 | Dr. Andrew Esfakis | 1988-1989 | Dr. Kirtland R. Culmer | 2006-2010 | Dr. Timothy Barrett |
| 1978-1979 | Dr. Bernard J. Nottage | 1990-1991 | Dr. Robin Roberts | 2011-2016 | Dr. Wesley Francis |
| 1980 | Dr. David Sands | 1992-1993 | Dr. Hubert Minnis | 2016- 2018 | Dr. Sy Pierre |
| 1980-1981 | Dr. Perry Gomez | 1994-1997 | Dr. Robin Roberts | 2018-2020 | Dr. E. Marcus Cooper |
| 2020-Present | Dr. Cindy Dorsett |
Harold A. Munnings MBBS FACG FRCP (Lond)
MAB Historian
