§ Mr. GROVESasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the statement in a report (R.E. 174) recently issued by the Health Section of the League of Nations that in Nigeria small-pox is considered to be endemic and frequently gives rise to epidemics, especially in the Northern Provinces; whether vaccination is compulsory in all provinces; and whether any other measures, apart from vaccination, are being taken to cope with the disease?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERI have seen the report to which the hon. Member refers. In Nigeria vaccination is compulsory in the Colony and in the Southern Provinces of the Protectorate; in the Northern Provinces it can be made compulsory in any area by order of the Governor in Council, and so far it has been made compulsory in the townships of Minna and Idah. In the Colony and the Southern Provinces cases of smallpox in the larger centres are isolated and immediate steps are taken to vaccinate all contacts; in the Northern Provinces isolation is not at present generally practicable, and preventive measures have been mainly confined to vaccination, to which the people, by careful propaganda and education, are being gradually persuaded to submit.