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A WHO without the United States
Health Check
Jan 22, 2025

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

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Apr 22, 2026
Making surgery safer for infants

We learn about a new injectable microgel to help reduce bleeding in infants who require surgical care. In a mice model, it reduced bleeding by at least 50%. Ashley Brown, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University and UNC Chapel Hill tells presenter Claudia Hammond more about this new material her team has designed.

Joined by Professor of Global Health and Epidemiology at Boston University in the US, Dr Matthew Fox, Claudia hears about a mystery illness that is being investigated by health officials in Burundi, which has caused five deaths and sickened thirty-five people. So far lab analysis of the illness - which causes fever, vomiting, and diarrhoea - has been negative for Ebola and Marburg viruses, Rift Valley fever, and others.

We hear about influential analysis from Cochrane which has concluded that "breakthrough" Alzheimer's drugs are unlikely to benefit patients. Researchers said the impact was "well below" what was needed to make a difference to dementia patients' lives. However, their report has also provoked a vicious backlash from equally esteemed scientists who label it as fundamentally flawed.

We’re joined by health journalist Katie Silver in Mexico, who brings us the news that the President, Claudia Sheinbaum, has announced the details of a plan to introduce universal healthcare – no mean feat in country of 130 million people.

And we hear about an experiment that was done by academics to see if they could trick AI chatbots into believing in an entirely fake disease.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Jonathan Blackwell


26min 28sec

A WHO without the United States

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