| A mobile health unit serves the needs of nomadic cattle herders of West Suk, Uganda. Visits by the unit are scheduled to regular lunar intervals, usually at trading centres. Clinic attendance is rising, indicating an increased awareness on the part of the Suk of the advantages of modern medicine. One advantage of the mobile unit is that it gives the staff an indication of the incidence of prevalent diseases and where best to concentrate preventive efforts. However, the unit inevitably falls short in this area. Visits are infrequent, and efforts must be concentrated on the curative aspect, although staff do attempt to explain the preventive measures for each complaint encountered and to give talks on basic aspects of hygiene. Even treatment is incomplete, as follow-up is impossible to assure in a 2-3-day monthly visit; many die from acute, but curable, diseases between visits. These drawbacks could be overcome by the establishment of dispensaries or health subcentres manned by dressers and visited by the unit at regular intervals. Health scouts, trained in basic hygiene and the recognition of infectious disease, could report disease outbreaks to the unit in the future. |