Official Inauguration in Nanking: Health Work in China Reviewed ference to be held in China opened In Nanking yesterday when the ninth congress of the Far Eastern Associa~ tion. of Tropical Medicine, founded in Manila in 1908, started its six. day session with more than 400 lead. ing members of the medical profes: sion in all countries in attendance. general meeting in the auditorium Before the convention of the first of Omcers' Moral "Endeavour As. Sociation at 9 am, the delegates Visited Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum. Ceremonies for the inauguration of the congress took place in the after: noon, when. speeches of welcome} were given by Mr. Wang Ching-wei, President of the Executive Yuan, Gen, Huang Shao-hsiung, Minister vf Interior, and Mr. Shih Ying, Mayor of Nanking. Mr. Lin Sen, Chairman of the Government, also sent a mestage of greeting to the gathering. In the evening, the members were en. tertained by Mr, Wang Ching-wel in the Examination Yuan building.
"The scientific sessions of the con gress begin to.day with discussion on medical, pathological and surgical] subjects, as well as on plague and cholera.' Among the interesting subjects to be discussed are: researches fon beri-beri in Shanghai, tropical typhus, blood diseases, lead poison. Ing, cancer of the liver, plague in India, plague in China, the relation of ratfeas and" plague, cholera in India and the cholera' problem in China, Mealth Work in China his presidential address delivered during the oficial inauguration of the congress_in Nanking yesterday afternoon, Dr. J. Hong Liu, M.D, Director of the National Health' Administration and of the Central Field' Health Station, re. viewed the activities of—public health and medical work in China.
He stated that while progress. on health work is slow due to various factors, such as the large size of the! country, the financial stringency ana the existence of old traditions anc superstitions, the workers are look. ing at the future with optimism, His address. follows:
With the advance of civilization! medical science has steadily under-one vast changes so that there is now no comparison between what it doing for the world at the present] time and what it did one hundred] or even fifty years ago. The most important change perhaps s_ the] practical application and utilization} fof the new sciences known as preven. tive medicine, personal hygiene and public theatth. Even with the know. edge of modern therapeutics medics science would not be what it is t if it is still confined to the treat ment of the sick. It is true that, to a large extent the work of the medical profession of to.day is still the treatment of disease, and it will probably be so still for many, many years to come, but as. civilization, Drogresses more, preventive measures are applied and newer methods, of prevention are discovered, thus making more and more diseases preventable and gradually making] others disappear entirely. unfortunate fact that) progress does not take place simul taneously in all countries, or in a parts of the same country. Many ire not adequately supplied) with health "protection or medica service and others are even without any modern hospitals or doctors. 'This is particularly true in the Far Eastern "countries where, as a con. sequence, perfectly preventable dis. eases are still epidemic or endemic. Cholera, small-pox, typhus fever, typhoid' fever, bubonic' plague, lop. rosy are some of the diseases which might have disappeared entirely from the face of the earth if all countries had made full use of the—present knowledge of preventive medicine sanitation and public health. The persistence of these diseases in our communities is due primarily, 1 think, to the inadequate protection which our governments have been able or willing to provide. But in order to sive the necessary protection, one must have personnel, institutions and funds. "Under personnel I include Goctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists midwives, sanitary engineers and inspectors, and propagandists. Under institutions, T "Inolude hospitals—particularly for isolation, maternity homes, sanitaria, diagnostic laboratories," quarantine stations, health stations and rural health centres and varans clinics and dispensaries. Tt therefore, not an easy task to make all the provisions within a short) time. All of us here to.day, 1 am sure, realize our great responsibiti ties.' We must obtain the funds, create the institutions and train our workers. Until we have these three} conditions fulfilled to a certain extent it seems useless to even talk about Public Health, As Director of the National Health Administration of China and of the Central Field Health Station, I wish to-day to say a few words in regard to the work we have been doing in this country. 'T have to confess that} there is a wide gap between the Present.day knowledge of the pre: Vention and treatment of disease and what is actually applied and utilized. No matter how justly proud we may be of our famous physicians and surgeons of previous centuries and millenniums, we have lagged behind and made very slow progress since medicine ceased to be empirical became a science. In the same way that our former governments have) neglected to fully utilize modern inventions and discoveries in the physi. cal sciences so also very little was done in the domain of modern medicine and public health, Railways, motor-cars, wireless telegrap>, modern machinery and other recoat inventions and discoveries of modern science were all very slowly. intro. Guced Into. our country, Modern scientific medicine was no exception and our progress was therefore very slow until the revolution which over-threw the Manchu dynasty. Since then the country has had political uyfreavals of one Kind and another so that a cal programme of national recon: [struction was not worked out until very recently, Even now progress of Jevery description ig not ay rapid as might wish.
Many have asked why this congress was not held in Shanghai or Peking. JShanghai has its conveniences hotels, communications and other matters of interest. Peking has its jeultural institutions, palaces and monuments. But the government Jchose Nanking in order to demonstrate to the delegates its "recent efforts in national reconstruction. JWhile the defunct Peking Government had only two public health institutions, "namely the National Epidemic Prevention Bureau and the [Maxehurian Plague Prevention Service, the National Government, since its establishment in Nanking in 1027, has created the following new institutions. entirely supported by the JCentral Government: National Health Administration, Central Field Health Station, National Quarantine Service, [Central Hygienic Laboratory, Central Midwifery School, First Midwifery [School, Peking, Central Hospital, and Central. School of Nursing.
Tt ip the desire of the Government to show that even during this period Jof the world crisis, and of political turmoil in this country, the Govern-Jment has earnestly tried to catch up with modern times. Tt is on our programme during the next few days to show you as many as possible of these institutions and the work that is being done in them.
The Central Health Station 1 wish particularly to call your attention to the work of the Central [Field Health Station and of its nine technical departments. The Station is inow the technical headquarters of the present and future Health Service of China. From the beginning technical advice has been sought from the Health Organization of the League of [Nations 30 that the work of the [Station would be in accordance with ithe most modern ideas and standards. During its brief existence of three years, considerable progress has been made in all the activities mentioned {n its original programme, particular in investigation and control of. communicable diseases, health education, schoo! health, "maternity and [child welfare, provision of medical relief and establishment of rural health "centres. Perhaps the most fundamental contribution to "the ination is being made by the training courses which are given by the station for all "kinds. of technical personnel. Tt is in fact a School of Hygiene giving training to medical Jand sanitary amicers, bacteriologists, lparasitologists, pharmacolocists, schoo! health workers and technicians of every description.
In addition to these national institutions the provinces and the large cities are also undertaking new acti@i-ities in public health and medical work. Newly established health de-apartments and bureaux containing [technical institutions such os hygienic laboratories, health centres, midwifery lsehools, clinics and hospitals are springing up rapidly. all this work we are constantly {faced with difficulties. The size of {the country, the large population, the existence of old traditions and super-titiens and financial stringency are' all factors which make progress slow Jand difficult. "But as pioneers in this Inow field in China we are looking at the future with optimism. We have Jat the moment a nucleus of 24 modern medical schools and a force of over 16.000 registered modern-style phy lsicians. Two hundred odd missionary Ihospitals and several hundred more lather hospitals are additional forces
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.