counter-measures taken to suppress them, very effectively dis- rupted normal medical services not only in Kowloon, which was directly involved, but also indirectly on the island, while at the same time flooding the hospitals with casualties. Staff, immo- bilized by curfew orders, were unable to report for duty and staff on duty could not be relieved. The Military Authorities, however, came to the assistance of the civil medical services with transport and guards and placed the facilities of a military hospital at the service of civilian casualties with the result that the difficulties were rapidly overcome. The experience was not without value and lessons learnt will be applied in future. It is obvious from the almost suprisingly good state of the public health that the Colony as a whole aucceeds in overcoming all these adverse factors to a very marked degree.
Vital Statistics and Natural Increase of the Population.
11. The Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance requires compulsory registration of births and deaths occurring in the Colony. The Director of Medical and Health Services, who has been the Registrar of Births and Deaths since 16th October, 1981, ceased to act as such as from 1st April, 1967, when the function of registration of births and deaths was taken over by the Registrar General. A scheme for the reorganization and decentralization of the Births and Deaths Registry was imple- mented late in 1966, and as a result, additional registries have been established in various districts throughout the Colony,
12. The number of registered births-96,746-again exceed- ed all previous records. It was 6,235 more than in 1955, which was itself a record year. Taking the estimated mid-year population of 2,440,000, the crude birth rate was 39.7 per thousand of population, which was slightly higher than the rate in 1965 of 38.7 per thousand.
13. On the other hand, the total number of deaths from all causes was only 19,295, just 215 more than in 1955, 12 more than in 1954 and 164 less than in 1952. The crude death rate was 7.9 per thousand of population, compared with 8.2 per thousand in 1955.
14. The net natural increase in the population of the colony during 1956 was thus 77,451, as against 71,341 in 1955,
15. There were 988 still births recorded, which gives a pre-natal wastage of just over 10 for every 1,000 of all births. The number of children dying in the first month of life, always the most dangerous period of a child's life, was 2,342, giving a neo-natal mortality rate of 24.2 in every thousand live births. This shows a slight increase over 1955, when the rate was 23.1 per thousand live births.
16. Deaths of infants under one year of age numbered 6,595, (30.6% of all deaths from all causes as compared with 31.5% in 1955). This gives an infant mortality rate of 60.9 per thousand, compared with 66.4 per thousand in 1955. Out of an increasing number of babies born, an increasing number is surviving. On an average almost 265 babies are born in the Colony each day for practically one every five minutes), of which at least 249 survive their first year of life, whereas in the past it would not have been unusual for at least 100 of them to die before their twelfth month of life. This dramatic success of the Maternal and Child Health Scheme is most gratifying but it is posing fresh problems in regard to medical services, education, employment and housing.
17. The following table sets out the Agures of infant and neo-natal deaths in detail :
[...] day
-7 days.
1. 4 werke
Age Perbort
I wekı-) month
3-6 oath.
|
Table 1
1954
1955
1950
199
224
212
803
*U4
1,091
1.048
882
1,039
1,179
1,148
1.002
1, 1.
044
991
957
904
9
Media
12 month
696
691
144
Total vudet | your
6.028
6,012
5,693
Infant Mortality rate ......KOA
12.4
40.4
60.9
No. of demak under 4 weeks Neu-batul Mortality rate
2.050
2,095
2,142
24.6
29.1
24,2
4...? moutha