Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1938. MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 89, 25 January 1938, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1938. MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL.

The conquest of disease by prevention is the first plank in the platform of the medical scientists of to-day, and the establishment of a Medical Research Council, announced by the Minister of Health yesterday, is in keeping with that policy. In all parts of the world the fight against disease is being intensified by the formulation of definite action, and it is fitting that this Dominion should fall into line, for while the major problems of medical science may not be solvable here, there are problems, or aspects of problems, peculiar to this country in regard to which the new body may be able to perform valuable work, while the contributions to the pool of knowledge may have far-reaching results. As the Minister said, much research has been carried out in New Zealand, considerably more, indeed, than the community generally realises, but with co-oper-ation of the various organisations that will come under the direction of the Council even more important results may be expected. The principal functions of the Council fall under four heads: To correlate, as far as may be practicable, medical research work in New Zealand; to recommend what researches and investigations should be undertaken; to appoint separate ad hoc committees to take charge of each investigation; to recommend what amount of money should be allocated for medical research each year and to suggest an apportionment of the amount to the separate investigations. Among the problems of local interest are nutrition, goitre, dental diseases, hydatids and tuberculosis. The Council at its preliminary meeting made special reference to the prevalence of tuberculosis among the Maoris, the high rate of mortality in this connection rendering early consideration desirable. The Council in its investigations will have to inquire into both the housing of large numbers of the Native race and their disregard of the laws of sanitation. Much has been done, and is being done, in the advancement of the Maori people in many ways but until the two aspects of social life mentioned are changed there will always be a menace to their physical-well-being. In any action that may follow the recommendations of the Council, the authorities will have the active support of the Maori leaders, who are fully alive to the seriousness of the position caused by the living conditions of so many of their own people. The personnel of the Medical Research Council furnishes in itself a guarantee that its duties will be performed in a thorough manner according to the most up-to-date principles of medical science.