funds reported by States. 1 Based on checks issued; differ slightly from fiscal-year expenditures from Federal Program not yet approved for Federal participation. Program approved for Federal participation beginning Jan. 1, 1954. No approved plan in operation. Table 8.-Maternal and child health and welfare services: Grants to States for maternal and child health services, services for crippled children, and child welfare services under the Social Security Act, by program and State, fiscal year 1954 1 Table 9.-Federal credit unions: Number of members, amount of assets, amount of shares, and amount of loans outstanding Dec. 31, 1935-1953 1 In the period 1945 through 1953, the number of operating and reporting credit unions was the same. In other years, the number of credit unions which reported was less than the number in operation. Table 10.-Federal credit unions: Assets and liabilities, Dec. 31, 1953, and Public Health Service Health of the Nation The improved health of the American people is one of the great achievements of the twentieth century. The average life-expectancy is longer and the chances of preventing or curing disease are greater than at any prior time in our history. This achievement has been made possible by the advance of science in many fields and by the application of medical and public health knowledge. Today, medical science is making rapid progress against diseases which once appeared to be insoluble mysteries. Among these, the major killers and cripplers are heart and circulatory ailments, cancer, arthritis and rheumatism, disorders of the nervous system, and mental disease. Infectious diseases caused by viruses still present many unsolved problems. These challenges require teamwork by health agencies at all levels of government with the many professional and voluntary groups working in the health fields. As a member of the Nation's health team, the Public Health Service continued throughout the past year to strengthen its working relationships with other organizations dedicated to the improvement of human health. HEALTH RECORD The estimated general death rate for 19531 was 9.6 per 1,000 population, approximately the same as in the past 5 years. There has been little change in the difference between the male death rate and the female death rate, the former being about 11 per 1,000 and the latter about 8 per 1,000. Infant mortality continued to decline, with a death rate of 27.9 per 1,000 live births in 1953. The maternal death rate was 5.6 per 10,000 1 All vital statistics are given for the calendar year. |