Co-Operation in the War Against Disease

Abstract

THE modern statesman is inclined to reject the terms of narrow nationalism, both in commerce and policy. He maintains his faith in the development, for the public good, of such co-operation and good-will which cannot be compatible with international mistrust and concealment. He is impelled to adopt this view, it is hoped, by the ideals of humanitarianism no less than by logic which implies search for efficiency. Yet it is self-evident that at present, without a radical change in method of government, which would go beyond political imagination, the control of geographical areas, or countries, must rest with the people of those areas. How far this control should be sovereign is a matter for debate; but there is little doubt that, in the matter of transmissible disease, the safety of the whole world community ought to take precedence over the rights of any particular people. In this respect there is one subject into which political considerations do not intrude and that is the advisability of a united, co-ordinated policy in the war against disease. This stands for the communal good. It is therefore opportune to formulate some ideas how such a campaign may be conducted. The causes of the main tropical and subtropical diseases are now well known, their conveyance to man and their effective treatments accurately ascertained. A proviso should here be made that the diseases, so named, may also be important in temperate lands. To illustrate this point, reference may be made to certain of these diseases and to some of the reasons which compel international attention. In this article, certain problems will be briefly stated and certain lines indicated which appear indispensable to their solution.