Health Check

The Americas are in danger of losing their measles elimination status as the disease spreads due to under vaccination. Also on the show, a study finds that continuous glucose monitors may be overestimating blood sugar levels in healthy adults. And it’s been ten years since Brazil experienced and epidemic of microcephaly due to the Zika virus. What have we learned in that time? Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins

As the Trump administration cuts 90% of programs funded by the US Agency for International Development, we look at the effect on global health. Also on the program, violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo is hindering the country’s ongoing MPox response – just as a new, more transmissible strain is discovered. And, a look at an initiative trying to improve women’s mental health in Guatemala.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins Assistant Producer: Katie Tomsett

Encephalitis can be a debilitating condition, but many people have never even heard of it. A new global report looks at how we can improve diagnosis and treatment.Also on the program, new research seems to indicate that antidepressents might speed cognitive decline in dementia patients, but do they really? We take a closer look at some of the caveats. And a gene therapy for toddlers who have gone blind is showing some promise, we’ll look into what this could mean for future treatments. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Katie Tomsett and Margaret Sessa-Hawkins

The global need for medical oxygen is high, but there are huge gaps in safe and affordable access. The first report of its kind identifies not only who is most vulnerable, but how the world can strengthen the supply of medical oxygen to improve public health and pandemic preparedness. We hear first-hand the impact of the USAID freeze on health clinicians in practice. And we learn how health systems are rebuilt after conflict, integrating resilience to protect them against future shocks.Also on the show, can weight-loss drugs curb alcohol addiction? Plus, scientists discover it is not just your tongue that can taste sweetness - sweet taste receptors have been found on the heart, and they could play a role in heartbeat regulation. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Katie Tomsett(Photo: A woman uses an oxygen mask at a medical health centre in Omdurman, Sudan, 3 September, 2023. El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters)

Do you look back on the past with rose-tinted spectacles, memories of the good old days accompanied by warm, fuzzy feelings? Or when you reflect on the past is it hard to do so without a tinge of sadness? Whether you fall on the more bitter or more sweet side, this is the bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. But nostalgia was not always just a feeling. Historian Agnes Arnold Forster tells Claudia and the panel that once it was viewed as a disease so deadly that it appeared on thousands of death certificates. And now this poignant emotion stirs political action, bonds us to others, and guides our very understanding of ourselves.Our expert panel of psychologists; Peter Olusoga, senior lecturer in psychology at Sheffield Hallam University, Daryl O’Connor, professor of psychology at the University of Leeds, and Catherine Loveday, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Westminster, join Claudia in the studio to discuss how leaning into nostalgia can help us feel better, reduce pain, and even inject a bit of romance into life.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Lorna Stewart Assistant producer: Katie Tomsett(Photo: Pensive woman looking out of the window. Credit: Getty Images)

As Guinea becomes the latest country to eliminate sleeping sickness, how close are we to defeating the disease completely? Also on the program, what does a massive shakeup at the US Agency for International Development mean for global health? And a new discovery is shedding a bit more light on a neural fossil in our ears. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins Assistant Producer: Katie Tomsett

What will President Trump’s order stopping work on foreign aid projects mean for global health?Also on the program, a new method for repairing heart muscles using stem cells shows promise, and do weight-loss drugs also stop the ‘food noise’ so many people hear? GP and medical journalist Graham Easton joins Claudia in studio to discuss.Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins Assistant producer: Katie Tomsett(Photo: People hold placards outside the USAID building, after Elon Musk said work is underway to shut down the US foreign aid agency in Washington, US, 3 February, 2025. Credit: Kent Nishimura/Reuters)

As President Trump signals his intention to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization, what could the global health ramifications be?Also, Meta moves from an independent fact-checking program to community notes - how will this affect health misinformation across the company’s platforms? A new rapid test that could help diagnose Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic fever brings hope to an oft neglected disease, and what would be the mental health effect of living in space long-term?Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Margaret Sessa-Hawkins(Photo: Workers load humanitarian aid and critical medical supplies donated to the Gaza Strip at Dubai International Airport, in co-ordination with the World Health Organization. Credit: Ali Haider/EPA) Assistant Producer: Katie Tomsett

With extensive wildfires in Los Angeles, we look at the longer-term health impacts of wildfires and why there is still a risk to health after a fire is extinguished. A global commission has called for an overhaul of how obesity is diagnosed, suggesting more measures for practitioners to help distinguish between different types of obesity and improve individualized care for each patient. In Guatemala, reporter Jane Chambers takes us along to a local project supporting residents to transition away from ultra-processed food and towards more traditional eating habits. Also on the show, in light of 2024 surpassing global climate warming limits of 1.5°C we find out how climate change is impacting HIV prevention and care. Plus, how abortion patients in the UK demonstrate shifting contraception choices, with a rise in ‘natural’ fertility options. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Katie Tomsett & Jack Lee

With reports of rising cases of the respiratory illness HMPV in multiple countries and concern over the risk it poses, we look behind the headlines to reality check what is really going on. Also on the show, we hear from injured Ukrainians who are building drones to help with their mental and physical rehabilitation. Plus, how does elite sport impact women’s fertility? Finally, we look ahead to predict what 2025 might have in store for global health. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producers: Katie Tomsett and Jack Lee(Photo: Bangalore Baptist Hospital where two cases of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) were detected in Bangalore, India, 06 January 2025. Credit: Jagadeesh Nv/EPA)