PRI's The World
 
 

Health
The health of people across the globe has become interconnected like never before. In an age of jet travel and emerging diseases, the spread of illness in one location - whether bird flu in Asia or AIDS in Africa - can quickly affect populations half a world away. The World keeps listeners up to date on developments in global health. Below is an archive of The World's recent coverage on global health.


Stolen AIDS drugs in South Africa (4:00)
December 17, 2008 | download | permalink | |


There are growing reports that young people in South Africa are stealing an AIDS medication, called Efavirenz, and using it as a recreational drug. The World's Laura Lynch reports from Johannesburg.



Cholera spreading in Zimbabwe (4:30)
December 5, 2008 | download | permalink | |


Zimbabwe is in freefall. The country is in the throes of political troubles, an economy in shambles, and a cholera epidemic that's spreading outside Zimbabwe's borders. Anchor Marco Werman gets the story from Jeff Barbee, a journalist with Global Post in Johannesburg, South Africa.



Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic (4:30)
December 3, 2008 | download | permalink | |


Cholera has killed hundreds of Zimbabweans...and infected thousands. Anchor Lisa Mullins finds out more about the disease from Rita Colwell, a cholera expert at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Harare diary: 'Too much to take'


An update on President Bush's AIDS plan (3:30)
December 1, 2008 | download | permalink | |


President Bush marked World AIDS Day with a speech at the White House. Mr. Bush gave an update on his administration's anti-AIDS initiative known as PEPFAR. Anchor Lisa Mullins gets an update on PEPFAR from HIV policy expert and epidemiologist Elizabeth Pisani.


'The Wisdom of Whores' : Elizabeth Pisani’s blog about HIV and other sundry things.


The journey of life-saving drugs (12:20)
December 1, 2008 | download | permalink | |


The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- or PEPFAR -- has supported life-saving treatment for more than 2.1 million men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS around the world. But despite the success so far, delivering the drugs remains a Herculean task in the developing world. The World's David Baron has the story of what it takes to get AIDS medicine to just one patient in West Africa.



Read the transcript and see photos

View photos



Stem cell transplant surgery (4:30)
November 19, 2008 | download | permalink | |


Doctors in Spain said today they've accomplished something unprecedented. They removed the windpipe of a woman with respiratory disease and replaced it with a new airway created, in part, in the laboratory. The World's Gerry Hadden has the story.



Zimbabwe's water woes (4:30)
November 19, 2008 | download | permalink | |


In Zimbabwe, the water taps are dry. The country's water system is old and broken. Many Zimbabweans are forced to dig their own wells and use water that's not clean. That's exposing people to disease. We have this report from Harare.


Zimbabwe at the crossroads


Diabetes epidemic (3:00)
November 14, 2008 | download | permalink | |


With nearly 40 million diabetics and growing, China faces a raging health epidemic. Anchor Marco Werman finds out more from Dr. Paul Zimmet, founder of the International Diabetes Federation.



Diabetes on the rise among Asians (5:30)
November 14, 2008 | download | permalink | |


Asians living here and Asia have much higher rates of diabetes than Caucasians, largely due to modern eating habits. Researchers here are figuring out the best ways to prevent an epidemic. The World's Julia Kumari Drapkin reports.


Audio slideshow: The Asian Diabetes Epidemic
Transcript and photos


Google tracking global health problems (4:00)
November 12, 2008 | download | permalink | |


Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Dr. John Brownstein, co-founder of HealthMap - a projected funded by Google - about how automated systems are scouring the web to gather data that could give advance warning of a health crisis.

HealthMap.org
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