Managing Smallpox Outbreak: Colonial Authorities and Medical Policies in Southwestern Nigeria, 1903–1960

Of all the colonial involvements in Africa, public health and addressing outbreaks of infectious diseases were among the important issues in the handling of local administration for both colonial regimes and the medical community. Colonial efforts to deal with health in Africa were closely related to the economic interests of the colonialists. Health was not an end in itself, but rather a prerequisite for colonial development. Colonial medicine was primarily concerned with maintaining the health of Europeans living in Africa, because they were viewed as essential to the colonial project’s success. The health of the colonized subjects was only a concern when their ill-health threatened colonial economic enterprises or the health of Europeans. Such was the case of smallpox epidemic and the subsequent reaction to its prevention and management. As a result, the control of smallpox marked the first occasion during which preventive health measures had been used successfully against an infectious disease. Against this backdrop, this article explores the British perception of smallpox which dictated the choice of anti-smallpox epidemic measures. Subsequently, the paper will examine colonial efforts at controlling and managing smallpox outbreak in Southwestern Nigeria through its various medical policies