During the British Mandate in Palestine, the Bedouins in the Negev suffered from different disease and illnesses: isolation, ignorance and the stress of economic conditions greatly contributed to the high mortality rate. Most illnessessprang from cold, damp and mosquitoes. Many infants died at birth, and mothers died during delivery. Bedouins were exposed to extreme cold conditions in the winter season. This applied particularly to breeders of livestock and camels who had not even the scant cover of a tent while they watched their animals. Colds that brought in their wake rheumatism, pneumonia and tuberculosis were prevalent. Men who camped near swampland contracted malaria.

The Bedouins had experiencedtraditional healers,diagnosing their illnessesand suggesting remedies. Some of the illnesses and traditional methods used by the Bedouin healers during the British mandate are given in the following. This study describesthe changesthat occurredin the Bedouinhealth systemin the earlytwentiethcentury.Thefirstcauseof changein theirmethodsof healthcareis the founding of Beershebai,n the last decadeof ottoman rule. Along with the constructionof Beershebaw, esternhealthserviceswereintroducedto the Negev's Bedouin.This processof westernizationof health servicesin the Negevintensified during the rule of the British Mandate in palestine.