Worlds Oldest Person

Dominicans yesterday celebrated the birthday of the World’s oldest living person Elizabeth (Ma Pampo) Israel who turned 128 even as government vowed to increase pressure on Guinness World record officials to officially confer the title on the Dominican.

Unfortunately, the Guinness World record has not officially recognized Ma Pampo since they are still in the process of verifying the claim. A Baptismal certificate has been issued by the Roman Catholic Church with her birth date stated as January 27, 1875, but since it is not an official record, it cannot be used to authenticate the claim.

The claim was further thrown into doubt when it was learned that at some point in her life she was called Minetta George. Guinness officials have said that it is important to clarify these various issues before the title can be conferred. Given the state of record keeping during that time in Dominica, it may be difficult to collect collaborative evidence to substantiate the claim.

At the age of 128, Elizabeth (Ma Pampo) Israel is considered the World’s oldest living person. Born in Portsmouth, Dominica, and the daughter of slaves, she started working on a plantation at the age of 25 and retired 79 years later. Ma Pampoo ascribes her longevity to her diet--including lots of dumplings and bush tea. She has survived her husband and two children.

There are at least seventeen centenarians in Dominica (with four residing in close proximity to Ma Pampo), from a population of 70,000 making it the country with the highest concentration of centenarians per 1000 of the population. Dominica’s pristine, largely untouched and unspoilt environment, which lies largely unpolluted, has been cited as the main reason for longevity on the Island.

Editor's Note Since the publication of this article in January 2003 Ma Pampo died in October of that year without ever being recognised as the World's Oldest Person by the Guiness Book of World Records. Unfotunately, her death came before the scientific community could confirm her age.

As of February 2005, there were 21 centenarians in Dominica with the oldest at the age of 107. The US has the highest number of centenarians about 55 000, followed by Japan with 25 000. Based on the population of all three countries, Dominica has 3 centenarians for every 10 000 of the population compared to about 2 centenarians for every 10 000 for the US and Japan.