Disease and Death, 1925–69
Disease and Death, 1925–69
This chapter argues that while mortality levels fell at different times for different age groups in the three case study areas, what is most surprising about the pattern of morbidity and mortality in this region is that life expectancy in Ankole seems to have improved as fast as in the other societies. Yet Buganda and Buhaya enjoyed huge advantages in terms of medical and educational provision, and cash income. The case of Ankole emphasizes the significance of livestock, relative equality, preventive medicine, and low levels of malaria in offsetting the demographic effects of cash poverty and peripherality in colonial Africa, while the examples of Buganda and Buhaya illustrate the negative consequences of modernization, especially for child health, due to high levels of divorce, fostering, and bottle-feeding. Evidence from these societies also reveals unexpected outcomes associated with female education, income levels, and discrete medical campaigns.
Keywords: Tanzania, Uganda, Ankole, Buganda, Buhaya, mortality, morbidity, education, poverty, divorce
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