Institution: Rockefeller Sanitary Commission
![](https://s30471.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Hookworm-Story-of-a-Boy-Drawings_French-Cartoons-by-B.-Stephany_RF-records_Series-100_Box-19_Folder-561_page-15-500x500.jpg)
1910s
1920s
1930s
Public Health: How the Fight Against Hookworm Helped Build a System
A hundred years ago, hookworm disease was an epidemic across the US South. Northern philanthropy tried to help.
![Black and white image of a group of children on a cart that is decorated with them holding signs reading "sleep", "fresh air", "good food" "dirt" and "ignorance".](https://s30471.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Public-Health_RF-photos_B60_F1357_2_LV-500x500.jpg)
1900s
1910s
Photo Essay: The Rockefeller Sanitary Commission and the American South
Battling hookworm on rural farms laid the groundwork for a global public health system.