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HEALTH EDUCATION
As can be seen from various parts of this Report there is no reduction
in the need for continuous Health Education and this is part of the daily life
of every public health officer to teach about the good life the healthy body
the dangers of carelessness about personal hygiene Excuses made in the past
for lack of cleanliness can seldom be justified in these days when houses shops
factories restaurants schools are all equipped with running water and soap
is a cheap commodity The will to be clean is however apparently a painfully
acquired and readily discarded attribute of human beings fastidiousness is not
part of the genetic set up as it is in other animals and so the positive ad
vantages of cleanliness to a person must be taught and repeated in order to
obtain safety for the community People are also selfish in that if infection
is caught the cry is Why did someone have to infect me? Yet the same people
will knowingly go abroad amongst their friends neighbours and workmates while
convalescent from an infectious illness yet not germ free We have to educate
constantly on moral and social consciousness yet it is a hard task and the
difficulty is revealed at a time when epidemic disease enters the country and
is publicized in newspapers or on television Then panic sets in and there is
loud and insistent demand for protection and avoidance of areas of incidence
in fact the reaction is almost mediaeval in its intensity This has happened
in the past few years when deaths from poliomyelitis occurred when deaths from
smallpox occurred and when typhoid outbreaks occurred yet everyone could be
constantly immune from poliomyelitis and smallpox and everyone could invariably
wash his hands before eating
The chief topics of the year in Health Education by poster and leaflet
publicity have been the dangers of smoking various aspects of Home safety and
Food Hygiene At the beginning of the year the Central Council for Health Educa
tion held a Seminar for Medical Officers on the subject of New Horizons in
Health Education In reality this Seminar was principally used for discussions
and demonstrations of modern techniques in education on health and the potential
of closed circuit television as a teacher Certain local authorities are al
ready using this very successfully in various parts of the country using public
health material and staff but professional script writers and producers
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