Annual report of the Medical Department / Uganda Protectorate.

  • Uganda Protectorate. Medical Department.
Date:
[1950]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Medical Department / Uganda Protectorate. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    24/56 (page 20)
    There is no doubt that a campaign focussed on one predominant disease creates greater interest and achieves far more than general efforts at health education made in the course of dispensary work. This method was adopted in 1949 for yaws in Lango, and similar yaws campaigns have been initiated in Madi, Bombo and Busoga. Other examples are bilharzia compaigns in Lango and Busoga, and anti-malarial work in the Kigezi resettlement area. There are many fields in which steady and continuous educative efforts are required to overcome natural inertia and to break down superstitious beliefs and taboos. Among beliefs which are still in need of eradication are the notions that magical poisoning can be effected on a person who uses a pit latrine, that eggs and other valuable articles of diet have undesirable effects, and that the “injection” is the only effective form of medical treatment. E. Maternity and Child Welfare The popularity of the maternity services continues, and the number of live births in institutions has increased 13% above the 1949 level. Although there was a similar increase in the number of still-births (11% above the 1949 level), there was no corresponding increase in deaths of infants or mothers. There has been no increase in ante-natal patients, and the recorded number of attendances per patient has fallen slightly from 4-2 in 1949 to 3*9 in x95°‘ Table? 15 Ante-natal Supervision-—New patients and re-attendances 1948 1949 1950 New patients— At Government hospitals At Government rural centres 34,080 32,500 34,906 34*758 34*388 32,865 At all Government units At all Mission units 66,580 24,201 69,664 28,835 67*253 31*219 Total Patients ... 90*781 98,499 98,472 Re-attendances— At Government units ... At Mission units 210,799 78,476 218,444 91*367 208,585 82,392 Protectorate Total 289,275 309,811 290,977 Table Ji 6 J&. Institulional Deliveries 1950 1949 Govern¬ ment units Mission units All units Abortions— Threatened • • * 474 526 1,000 Complete ... 1*523 806 352 1,158 Full term deliveries— Live birth ... 18,101 M 00 Cn to 8,570 20,422 Still-birth ... M b 0 00 833 376 1,209 Deaths— Infant 486 313 183 496 Mother 214 169 46 215