§ 16. Sir EDWARD GRIGGasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs 1944 whether he has any information to give the House regarding measures taken to improve the health and economic condition of the natives of Bechuanaland?
§ Under SECRETARY of STATE for DOMINION AFFAIRS (Mr. Malcolm MacDonald)Funds have been provided either from the Colonial Development Fund or from general revenue for proposals relating to the economic development of the Bechuanaland Protectorate recommended in Sir Alan Pim's report. The total assistance from the Colonial Development Fund which has so far been approved for the Bechuanaland Protectorate amounts to, £89,027. As regards health measures, a substantial extension of medical services has lately been authorised, including the provision of two travelling dispensaries, the establishment of three new hospitals, and the initiation of a scheme for training native nurses. Part of the cost of the last scheme, and of similar schemes in Basutoland and Swaziland, is being met from a generous grant of £10,000 which has been made for this purpose by the Transvaal Chamber of Mines, and two of the proposed new hospitals are mission hospitals, towards the cost of which the missionary societies concerned are contributing.