Medical Association – By Kisean Joseph
Medical Association Charts New
The Medical Association of Antigua and Barbuda Incorporated (MAAB) is charting a new direction under a recently elected executive, with its vice president pledging to not only strengthen the voice of local physicians but also improve how health services are communicated and delivered to the public.
The association held its executive elections on January 28, 2026, with the new team set to serve the 2026-2028 term. Returning to the helm is Dr. Alafea Stevens, MD, an Emergency Medicine specialist who previously served as president during the 2020-2022 and 2022-2024 terms.
Joining her is Vice President Dr. Courtney Lewis, MD, Medical Director of the Dr. C. Lewis Medical and Associates Health Center, who is serving his first term on the executive.
Rounding out the leadership are Secretary Dr. Frances L. Workman, who holds qualifications in Family Medicine, Treasurer Dr. Gail-Ann Fortune, MD, a specialist in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, and two Members at Large — Dr. David A. Francis, MD, who specializes in Public Health, and Dr. Jodi-Ann Morgan Haughton, MD, a specialist in Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Lewis, speaking to Observer media, discussed the association’s plans, its structure, and some of the less visible challenges facing doctors in the twin-island nation.
He was careful to distinguish the Medical Association from the Medical Council of Antigua and Barbuda, noting that while the Council handles the registration and licensing of medical professionals, the Association serves an entirely different purpose.
“The Medical Association is actually a representative group, so what we try to do is we try to represent the interests of the doctors and healthcare professionals in Antigua and Barbuda and try to give those persons a place where they have community, and they have a collective voice,” he said.
The association is primarily composed of doctors, though allied healthcare professionals participate in community outreach efforts. Membership is voluntary, with doctors encouraged — not required — to join and pay dues that grant them certain privileges and protections.
While the organization functions similarly to a union, Dr. Lewis noted that it has not yet completed the legal processes required to formally register as one.
Under the new executive, the association is centering its work around two core mandates. The first is fulfilling its traditional role of representing doctors and ensuring their concerns are heard and addressed. The second is a more outward-facing push to promote health services and educate the public about where and how to access care.
“Hopefully, in a much more organized and efficient manner if the doctors are working together as one cohesive cohort as opposed to individuals scattered across the diaspora,” Dr. Lewis explained.
The vice president also pushed back against a widely held assumption — that doctors are universally well-off and free from financial strain. He described most physicians, particularly younger ones, as solidly middle-class earners whose perceived prosperity is often tied to professional perks rather than high salaries.
“Most people, when they see doctors who they think are financially well off, you’re looking at those who are towards the end of their professional tenure — those who would have put in the years and served and would have invested,” he said. “But for us, the young doctors, we still have the same bills and expenses as everybody else.”
Beyond finances, Dr Lewis said some of the most pressing issues the association seeks to address involve workplace protections — ensuring that doctors working in high-risk environments receive appropriate risk allowances, adequate equipment, and the necessary human resources to deliver quality care.
“If I’m a person working on an infectious disease ward, do I get risk allowance? Do I get the equipment I need to do that job effectively?” he asked. “Who speaks up on my behalf?”
Dr Lewis closed by reassuring the public that Antigua and Barbuda’s healthcare professionals remain dedicated and called on fellow doctors to strengthen the association through membership.
“We are vastly more powerful together than we are separate,” he said.
