The Rockefeller Foundation and the League of Nations: Public Health in Europe (1920-1945)

The Rockefeller Foundation (RF) and the League of Nations (LON) played a fundamental role in stabilization policies during the interwar period. Public bealth became essential in this context due to the immediate consequences of the war, the post war economic crisis and the Great Depression. RF and LON became the comerstone of intemational action in several fields: epidemics, famine, malnutrition, infectious diseases, infant mortality, drug abuse, biological and dietary standard-setting, epidemiological records, public bealth policies and professionalization. In the sbaping intemational bealth expertise, LON and RF collaboration was extremely important, in terms of determining goals and programmes, and in terms of financia! support. This article analyses the areas and the extent of their collaboration in Europe.