CHILD WELFARE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16797, 22 July 1920, Page 3

CHILD WELFARE.

new; department planned. DR. TRUBY KING TO DIRECT ' CAMPAIGN. GOSPEL OP HSALTH FOR THE YOUNG. ■ In opening thei conference of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children on Tuesday afternoon, the .Hon, C. J. Parr (Minister of Public Health) said: “I am interested in the Plunket movement as Minister of Education because it concerns tlie child in its iest years. A new era has dayraed for preventive medicine. I wish you would all read the report of Sir George Newman (Chief Health Officer for Great Britain) to Dr. Addison on this subject. What do I mean by pro-, ventive medicine? In a word, 1 mean preventing disease by education, an opposed to during it with a bottle of medicine. No modern State System is of any use unless it has a branch for educative and preventive medTciHA. We must aim at giving, our children strong, healthy bodies, capable of the strongest possible resistance against disease. If we can do this we can largely ’eliminate our medical school inspection _aud free dental treatment. These things then would not be necessary, ■ ' . • “I say I am Interested as Minister of Education. 13 you were to see the reports that I get from the school medical officers, you would be surprised at tbe large percentage of -children—even in this favoured community—who are suffering from bad teeth, and all sorts of disorders, due largely to malnutrition and neglect' in the earliest vears. Not one, in served children in some schools have sound teeth. This, evil is almost entirely due to malnutrition in infancy. ‘ These are the children who survive the infancy period. What about the children that die? Do you know that during the war period nearly 15,000 children died in New Zealand; just about as many men as we lost on the. battlefield? Out of this 15,000, 59 per cent, died in the first year after birth. I am sure that many of these deaths arise from preventible causes. Again look at.it another way. We spend three million pounds per annum in educating the children from the ages of 6 to 16. Wo hardly spend.a pennypiece on the period from 1 to 6, when we ought to be looking to the health of the child. What is the result ? Prom the figures of the inspectional repprts we see that a large, number of our school children are not in a fit state of health to get the fullest benefit from the education we give them at so great an expense to the State. The figures in England are ©yen worse. . A recent census snowed that over one million children in Great Britain were physically unfit to_ benefit adequately from State education. I am afraid that the pre-school period, is treated as a period- of ignorance. Many young mothers do not know how to bring up children. Many others are careless and indifferent, and the results are seen to-day in having so many young people who are only fit for a '. “nWy come to the remedy for these evils. "’’The remedy ds ,the creation of a bureau, or department, of_ child welfare. This is not an expensive matter. It is a matter of education and lectures and propaganda. We want a capable man to go through, the country and preach the gospel of health to mothers and expectant mothers and young people. We want the halls to be filled with fathers and mothers of young children, to, be told thft. simple truths and principles of physical health. After all, the health of our young people is the greatest of all our interests. Now, can we get a man with the necessary enthusiasm to direct this campaign and launch this Department of Child Welfare? I think we can. The man is with us, as well as the hour. Dr. Truby . King is the man for this job. I should tell you that I have already asked Mr. Massey (the Finance Minister) to spare him from his present, work so that he may become director of this Department of Child Welfare. It rests with the Prime Minister. He will decide. I believe he’ will help u®. We must conquer ignorance by implanting the knowledge of mother-craft and infant development in the breasts of our girls and/ womenfolk. If we can do this I feel assured that you will achieve important results. First—We will sensibly reduce the present death-rate by saving the lives of hundreds of children who now die from ignorance. Second—We will decrease and minimise the cost of inspecting and treating our school children - for bad teetb, adenoids, rickets, etc., from which to-day they so prolificacy Buffer. Third—Wo will reduce the huge cost of hospitals, because fewer people will need them. Fourth—We will double the work--1 ing power and effectiveness of .every citizen. Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, I make no apology for introducing this great question to your notice, because it is an opportune time for me, as Minister of Education and Public ■ Health, to indicate that the policy of the State must be directed much more intimately and forcibly to the preservation by preventive medicine of the welfare of the child and its mother.’ DEPUTATION TO MINISTERS. 1 Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, July 22. The Prime Minister and Minster of Public Health were interviewed to-day by a deputation of 200 members of the New Zealand! Society for the Health of Women and Children with, reference to finance and the furtherance of the work and policy of the society. The Prime Minister expresed appre-ciation-of the work of the society and particularly of Dr. Truby King. . In cofiling to the Government the society was coming to a sympathetic body . of men, who were determined and committed to give any possible assistance to the work in hand. He hoped he would bo able to arrange that, so long as Dr. Truby King was prepared to remain in harness, all his time should he given to the Plunket Society, and similar work. There wore heavy demands on the Finance, Minister, and he could not say everything the deputation asked would be given. Ho realised, however, that the work of the society could be done far better by it than by a department of State, and he was going to take particular care it should get its share of any money that was going. The Minister of Public Health said important additions had been made to tho society’s requests and whether they would bo granted rested largely with the Finance Minister. The work of the society was well worth supporting, for if it could save 100 babies a year that' was surely worth what it cost to construct half a mi}e of jrailw.ajj.