Annual report of the Public Health Department / Zanzibar Protectorate.

  • Zanzibar. Public Health Department.
Date:
[1934]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Public Health Department / Zanzibar Protectorate. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/68 (page 11)
    It would therefore appear, unless registration can be made effective in a short time which is very unlikely, that a knowledge of the native populations of Zanzibar and their trends must await detailed investigations in the field of small selected communities. There appear* to be little doubt in the minds of those Africans and Arabs who have so far been interrogated that their people are decreasing in numbers. Infantile Mortality.—405 deaths of infants under one year of age were recorded amongst the 4.466 registered births, giving an Infantile Mortality liate of 90.7 for the total population. The rate recorded last year was 61.2, but there is no doubt that these figures do not represent the truth. During the year 69 African and Arab women in Zanzibar, were interrogated, and stated that between them they had had 176 babies of whom 60 had died in their first year, representing a rate of 341 per 1,000, which is no more than would be expected. In Pemba 85 women were questioned and it was found that of 336 live children born a total of 120 had died: this represents an infantile mortality rate of 357 which approximates to that which it is thought obtains in Zanzibar. Still Births.—No figures are available for the Protectorate, but the returns of the Mwem- beladu Maternity Home of the Zanzibar Maternity Association over the last four years, number¬ ing over 500 cases, indicate that the rate is rather in excess of 10 per cent of total live and still births. Maternal Mortality.—No figures are available. Immigration and Emigration.—There are two seasonal waves of emigration into Zanzibar; the first and largest is of natives from the mainland after the clove picking season, towards the end of the year, for the purpose of weeding and hoeing shambas; the second of Arabs from Muscat, and elsewhere in Arabia who sail their dhows down in the north east monsoon to arrive in Zanzibar at the beginning of the year. Most of these immigrants return to their native lands on the completion of their business after a few months residence in Zanzibar but some remain to settle and provide a disturbing element when endeavours are made to estimate the vital trends of the local peoples. In the past, the number of immigrants has been in excess ■of the number of emigrants, but in the year under review, the reverse has been the case. 1932 1933 1934 Immigrants 18,873 15,691 12,778 Emigrants 14,493 14,525 13,491 +4,380 + 1.166 -,713 If this tendency continues, the population of Zanzibar may become a decreasing one, as the recorded number of births in excess of deaths is so small. (2) European Officials. The officials included in Table A and B below are those whose names appear in the Pro¬ tectorate Staff List only. Wives and families are not included. Table A. Table showing the sick, invaliding and death rates of Europeans officials during the last three years: — Total number of officials resident 1932 111 1933 106 1934 105 Average number resident 83.87 77.63 68.64 Total number on sick list 114 298 290 Total number of days on sick list 687 546 585 Average daily number on sick list 1.88 1.22 1.6 Percentage of sick to average number resident 2.24 1.93 2.33 Average number of days on sick list for each patient 6.02 1.83 2.02 Average sick time to each resident 8.19 7.03 5.57 Total number invalided 2 2 — Percentage of invaliding to total residents 1.81 1.48 — Total deaths — 1 Percentage of deaths to total residents — .94 — Percentage of deaths to average number residents — 1.29 —