Colonial Public Health

1. Colonial Public Health
Mohammad Aslam Shaiekh
MPH – 3rd Batch
School of Health and Allied Sciences (SHAS)
Pokhara University (P.U)
7/6/2018 1Aslam Aman_MPH

2. • From time immemorial, human being have
dealt with spread of dreadful disease like
diarrhoeal diseases, smallpox, plague or
syphilis.
• Modern public health principles and practices
were developed during the so called Victorian
period of eighteen- nineteenth centuries.
7/6/2018 2Aslam Aman_MPH

3. • Establishment of medical care facilities, a
series of legislative measures on public health
matters such as improved sanitation facilities
and practices, installation of safe water supply
and the preventive and control response to
epidemic.
• Colonial countries initiated legislative
measures.
7/6/2018 3Aslam Aman_MPH

4. • Legislative measures – Such as Public Health
Acts, Local government and municipality Acts,
Vital Registration Act, Factory Act, Food
adulteration Acts etc are still in existence in
many LMI countries.
• European model of national social health
insurance scheme also spread to other
countries.
7/6/2018 4Aslam Aman_MPH

5. • Established education, medical care, and
research institution by missionaries with
western education and an allopathic medical
background.
• Infectious disease were identified as tropical
disease.
• Prevention, control and management of
tropical disease became priority.
7/6/2018 5Aslam Aman_MPH

6. • Research studies on the Epidemiology and
control of infectious disease in tropical
countries.
• Education in public health and tropical
diseases were flourished in Europe and
America.
• Public health school, tropical disease research
institutions were established.
7/6/2018 6Aslam Aman_MPH

7. • Discoveries of causative organisms and way of
stopping transmission of malaria, sleeping
sickness, and worm infestation by these
school.
• Technical and financial support
• British authorities established public health
educational and research institution in India by
early 1920s.
7/6/2018 7Aslam Aman_MPH

8. • Research in tropical diseases and to train
local people on hygiene and public health
by Institute of Tropical Medicine and
Institute of Hygiene and Public Health in
Kolkata.
• Series of research, training and
laboratories were established in India.
7/6/2018 8Aslam Aman_MPH

9. • Actually the development of Public Health and
medical care services for the general public in
the colony remained rudimentary.
• Local people were suffering from epidemic
outbreaks indigenous infectious sources and
but also from disease imported through trade
and migration routes.
7/6/2018 9Aslam Aman_MPH

10. • Thousands of people died in new territories
due to smallpox, malaria, yellow fever, typhus,
typhoid cholera, or were disabled due to
leprosy and syphilis.
• Americans launched control of malaria and
yellow fever campaigns.
• British, French and Dutch colonial initiated
control of smallpox through vaccination.
7/6/2018 10Aslam Aman_MPH

11. • The colonials later launched community based
health intervention and research projects for
malaria control and worm infestation.
7/6/2018 11Aslam Aman_MPH

12. Reference
 Roger Detels et.al. Colonial Public Health
Oxford textbook of Public Health volume 1,
fifth edition. Oxford university press. 2009; p
40-41.
7/6/2018 12Aslam Aman_MPH

13. THANK YOU
7/6/2018 13Aslam Aman_MPH