HEALTH AND POPULATION 569 



natives appreciate the value of doctors, it is possible to separate 

 the two functions and thereby achieve greater efficiency in each, 

 but in backward areas the full confidence of the population must 

 be won by curing disease before any attempt is made to improve 

 sanitary conditions. Thus a disease such as yaws, which can 

 usually be cured by a short series of injections, is often a godsend 

 to the sanitary worker. For friendly instruction in elementary 

 hygiene when confidence has been obtained, a knowledge of the 

 vernacular is essential. 



2. Health officers, however zealous, can achieve Httle without 

 full co-operation from other departments such as administrative, 

 agricultural, veterinary, education, and police. There is no doubt 

 that the importance of sanitary improvement would be better 

 appreciated by officers in other departments if they had the oppor- 

 tunity of attending courses on the subject in home countries. 



3. In an under-nourished population, especially if it is subjected 

 to periods of famine or semi-famine, the mere treatment of 

 disease is insufficient. The first need is a continuous supply of 

 sufficient and well balanced food for the native, and the next 

 improvement in housing. Both aspects depend on the economic 

 status of the community. 



4. The teaching of hygiene, sanitation, and food values should 

 be given a prominent place in school curricula and should be 

 essentially practical, provided it is remembered that in hyo-iene 

 'parrot' rules are of little value without some background of 

 biological understanding. The education of adults at hospitals, 

 village gatherings, and other meeting-places can be furthered 

 greatly by the use of lantern slides and cinema films. 



5. Progress in preventive and curative medicine depends largely 

 on the efficiency of African subordinate staflf, and training at the 

 principal hospitals and in special schools requires continued 

 emphasis, particularly the training of native women in midwifery 

 and child welfare work. Unfortunately women with the requisite 

 elementary education are still rare in many territories. 



6. The growth of air transport in Africa has now reached a 

 stage when aeroplanes could be more widely used for transporting 

 patients and medical and sanitary personnel with advantage to 

 efficiency and economy. 



