Venereal diseases in the British colonies.

The problem of venereal disease in the colonial territories is one of considerable magnitude and of some complexity. This is readily understandable if we consider the vast extent of the colonial empire, scattered throughout the five continents and composed of many peoples at different levels of development-some living in comparative isolation and others in ever closer association with alien races. I do not intend to present you with a series of figures showing the incidence of the disease in different colonies, for they would not in effect convey any real information. The compilation of true vital statistics is in its infancy in many of these territories, except perhaps for the larger centres of population, and it is, therefore, impossible -to give a general picture with any claim to actual truth. Again, if we take one colony where there are only three hundred doctors to look after the needs of a population more than half that of England and Wales, it is obvious that no completely accurate picture of disease incidence is possible. The problem is no new one although it has been aggravated in recent years by developments in transport and by the impact of two wars. In the early years of the 20th century, the seriousness of the venereal disease situation in one colony was directly responsible for the creation of its modem medical services. In Uganda, the work of the Medical Department in the early days largely consisted of attention to the European staff, African troops, and Government officials, and little attention was directed by the Government to the health needs of the natives as a whole. In the early 1900s the ravages of syphilis among the Bugandas necessitated an official enquiry, and Colonel Lambkin of the R.A.M.C. was appointed to report on the prevalence of V.D. and to concert measures for checking its ravages. His report, presented in 1908, showed that the incidence of syphilis in certain areas was almost 90 per cent. He recommended among other things