The introduction of antimicrobial drugs in East and Southern Africa, 1930s to 1950s

Antimicrobial drugs were introduced in parts of Africa within a short time of their development in the West. Yet their introduction occurred within a context shaped by their existence as colonies of European powers. is article describes the arrival and use of antimicrobials in three former British colonies; Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Nyasaland (Malawi) and Uganda. These countries had very different origins but had common features of basic Western health services based on the activities of missionary organisations and the Colonial Medical Service. Whilst the wider availability of antimicrobials in these countries was limited by issues of a ordability they played an important part in reducing deaths due to infections. Yet one of their legacies was in permanently changing the relationship between patients and health professionals and, more broadly, between colonised subjects and colonial powers.