Endemic and epidemic diseases in Lourenço Marques in the early 20th Century: forms of control versus urban development

• Autor(a) principal: Roque, Ana Cristina
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.25761/anaisihmt.94

In the early 20th century, Lourenço Marques emerged as a promising metropolis in southern Africa being the relation with the Transvaal pointed as the main responsible for its development. Therein mingled people of all backgrounds and crafts making imperative to implement urban structures and public health policies to respond the needs arising from this population outbreak. In the 19th century, the difficulties in implementing the Health Services had shown the main consequences of this growth, leading to reforms and legislation that often proved to be inadequate or inappropriate to tropical conditions. Endemic and epidemic diseases found in Lourenço Marques favorable conditions to their proliferation and, as early as 1900, different strategies were considered and tested to combat major diseases. These strategies involved investment in preventive measures and public and sanitation works but, most times, rather than acting in a prophylactic way, they contribute to relegate diseases to the city’s periphery, accentuating dichotomies and social inequality. Using the documents of the Health Services and the Public Works Services, this article address the effectiveness and results of these measures, particularly with regard to the indigenous medical care, in the scope of Tropical Medicine and the implementation of the colonial system in Mozambique.