of the day, especially striking young people in their 20s. germany set up vigorous measures of public hygiene and public sanatoria, but france let private physicians handle the problem, which left it with a much higher death rate. the french medical profession jealously guarded its prerogatives, and public health activists were not as well organized or as influential as in germany, britain or the united states. for example, there was a long battle over a public health law which began in the 1880s as a campaign to reorganize the nation's health services, to require the registration of infectious diseases, to mandate quarantines, and to improve the deficient health and housing legislation of 1850. however the reformers met opposition from bureaucrats, politicians, and physicians. because it was so threatening to so many interests, the proposal was debated and postponed for 20 years before becoming law in 1902. success finally came when the government realized that contagious diseases had a national security impact in weakening military recruits, and keeping the population growth rate well below germany's. mexico this section is an excerpt from healthcare in mexico § public health. public health issues were important for the spanish empire during the colonial era. epidemic disease was the main factor in the decline of indigenous populations in the era immediately following the sixteenth-century conquest era and was a problem during the colonial era. the spanish crown took steps in eighteenth-century mexico to bring in regulations to make populations healthier. in the late nineteenth century, mexico was in the process of modernization, and public health issues were again tackled from a scientific point of view. as in the u.s., food safety became a public health issue, particularly focusing on meat slaughterhouses and meatpacking. even during the mexican revolution (1910–20), public health was an important concern, with a text on hygiene published in 1916. during the mexican revolution, feminist and trained nurse elena arizmendi mejia founded the neutral white cross, treating wounded soldiers no matter for what faction they fought. in the post-revolutionary period after 1920, improved public health was a revolutionary goal of the mexican government. the mexican state promoted the health of the mexican population, with most resources going to cities. united states this section is an excerpt from united states public health service. logo of the united statespublic health service the united states public health service (usphs or phs) is a collection of agencies of the department of health and human services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. the assistant secretary for health oversees the phs. the public health service commissioned corps (phscc) is the federal uniformed service of the phs, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the united states. phs had its origins in the system of marine hospitals that originated in 1798. in 1871 these were consolidated into the marine hospital service, and shortly afterwards the position of surgeon general and the phscc were established. as the system's scope grew to include quarantine authority and research, it was renamed the public health service in 1912. the united states lacks a coherent system for the governmental funding of public health, relying on a variety of agencies and programs at the federal, state and local levels. between 1960 and 2001, public health spending in the united states tended to grow, based on increasing expenditures by state and local government, which made up 80–90% of total public health spending. spending in support of public health in the united states peaked in 2002 and declined in the following decade. state cuts to public health funding during the great recession of 2007–2008 were not restored in subsequent years. as of 2012, a panel for the u.s. institute of medicine panel warned that the united states spends disproportionately far more on clinical care than it does on public health, neglecting "population-based activities that offer efficient and effective approaches to improving the nation's health." as of 2018, about 3% of government health spending was directed to public health and prevention. this situation has been described as an "uneven patchwork" and "chronic underfunding". the covid-19 pandemic has been seen as drawing attention to problems in the public health system in the united states and to a lack of understanding of public health and its important role as a common good.