The use of mobile medical teams and equipment played a major role in expanding and improving medical care in rural areas. Laboratory, X-ray, and other services once available only in the largest cities were established in the district and sometimes at lower levels. The regime, in its effort to build up agriculture in the mid-1960s, set as an objective the improvement of living conditions in the countryside and the elimination of the differential between city and country. Medical assistance to rural areas continued to increase in the late 1960s, but in late 1969 the minister of health stated that the differences between the center and the districts and between the cities and the villages were very pronounced. He directed that action be taken to lessen the gap but added that differences would continue to exist. Nutrition Food supply--perennially a problem because of poor soil, primitive methods of cultivation, and lack of readily accessible resources--did not keep pace with population growth. For the late 1960s calorie intake per capita per day probably did not exceed 2,100 to 2,200, while the estimate for the mid-1950s was 2,200 to 2,300. The diet lacked protein and other protective elements. An estimated 80 percent or more of food intake was carbohydrates. Fruits and green vegetables were in short supply, and meats were a real scarcity. Little progress had been made in increasing livestock herds during the period of Communist rule, and credits to procure adequate supplies of protective foods from sources outside the country were not available (see ch. 8, Economic System). The diet generally depicted scarcity and, in the mountain and rural areas, was simple and routine. Dishes, high in starch content, made from corn, wheat, rice, and potatoes were basic. Yogurt, cheese, and prepared dry beans were among the most commonly found other foods. Green vegetables and fruits appeared seasonally in limited quantities. While some progress has been made in improving sources of drinking water, the vast majority of rural families, and some in the smaller cities, must rely on unprotected sources. Central sewage systems are found in only the largest cities. Housing Living quarters became increasingly overcrowded as population expanded at consistently high rates. Party First Secretary Enver Hoxha stated in December 1967 that the entire country, especially urban areas, was experiencing a housing crisis. Reports on housing construction indicated that the situation further deteriorated in the late 1960s because of the necessity to divert resources to even higher priorities, to the building of industry and procurement of food and clothing. War and natural catastrophes added to the burden. In World War II some 35,000 dwellings were destroyed. Earthquakes in November and December of 1967 demolished 3,500 homes. In April 1969, when 6,500 buildings were damaged or destroyed by earthquakes, additional thousands of homes had to be replaced or repaired.