Health > Intergovernmental conference of Far-Eastern countries on rural hygiene : preparatory papers : report of French Indo-China

in 1862 in Cochin-China, and in 1897 in Annam-Tongking,
that the first institutions for medical care were opened to the
natives of the country. After a period of organisation, all the
credit of which belongs to the Colonial Army Medical Corps,
the Medical Assistance Service was officially created in 1905
and took over the hospitals and field ambulances founded by
the civil and military authorities and by private initiative.
In 1931, the military and civil health services which previously
had been under the authority of a single Inspector-General
were separated.
At the present time, the Inspector-General of Public Health,
who is attached to the staff of the Governor-General and is a
member of the Governing Council, is responsible for all matters
relating to health and medical care. He is responsible for
superintending the activities of the frontier, seaport and airport
health services, hospitals and similar establishments and health,
medical care and social services, and for initiating and main¬
taining co-operation with private organisations. He advises
with regard to the medical and public health estimates of the
various countries of the Union, which the local authorities
are required to submit to him, and on all schemes for the
erection of public health establishments, hospitals, special
institutes, etc. On the technical side he controls the Local
Health Directors who, in each of the five countries of the
Union, direct the activities of the health service under the
instructions of the heads of the local administrations.
Each country is subdivided into areas called provinces
(of which there are eighty-eight in the whole of Indo-China)
of varying size, some—tf-g-, Thanh-Hoa in Annam having
populations of over a million. Each province is under the
authority of an administrator, or Resident as he is called in
the protectorates, the native administration being in the hands
of a mandarin or other official of high rank. The health service
is represented by a provincial health officer, who is attached, for
technical purposes, to the Local Health Director and, for
administrative purposes, to the Head of the province.
The staff of the Medical Service provide medical attention
and at the same time are responsible for general health work.
This combination of the two classes of work in a single service,