Reviews

Rockefeller Foundation's Typhoid Control Campaign at Kalutara-Totamune in Sri Lanka

Authors:

Abstract

The Kalutara Health Unit, established in 1926 by the International Health Board (IHB) of the Rockefeller Foundation, functioned as a “model” of public health in Asia. Typhoid fever endemic in the Kalutara health unit area during the 1930s caused concern for the IHB representative in Sri Lanka because the health unit served as the training center for the local and foreign public health personnel. After a number of unsuccessful attempts to control the disease, the IHB sponsored a bacteriological analysis of the problem, followed by a two-year sanitary engineering project that brought the disease under control. The successful typhoid control program in the Kalutara health unit area was an excellent case of international cooperation, and local community support in disease control that contributed to Sri Lanka's outstanding health achievements.

Key Words: Kalutara Health Unit; Typhoid fever; Rockefeller Foundation

DOI: 10.4038/gmj.v16i1.2906

Galle Medical Journal, Vol 16: No. 1, March 2011 pp.29-32

Keywords:

Kalutara Health UnitTyphoid feverRockefeller Foundation
  • Year: 2011
  • Volume: 16 Issue: 1
  • Page/Article: 29-32
  • DOI: 10.4038/gmj.v16i1.2906
  • Published on 29 Mar 2011
  • Peer Reviewed