Episodes
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Half of the world's population don't have access to essential healthcare, according to the World Health Organisation. And even in highly developed countries many still lose out. This week on People Fixing The World we hear about some ideas that aim to change that. We jump on board a hospital train that travels around South Africa providing affordable treatments to remote communities. And we step into a truck in a British supermarket car park, which is catching early cases of lung cancer when it’s much more treatable.
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/reporter: Claire BatesSouth Africa reporter: Mpho LakajeEditor: Jon BithreySound mix: Andrew Mills
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Presenter Myra Anubi visits western Kenya to see an innovative project that’s using hi-tech drones to deliver HIV drugs and testing kits. It’s an attempt to tackle the number of infections amongst young adults in the region. The drones are dropping HIV kits at youth-focused events such as football matches and concerts. The idea is to take away some of the stigma surrounding HIV/Aids and make treatment more accessible.
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
Producer: Richard KennyEditor: Jon BithreySound mix: Annie Gardiner
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Missing episodes?
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In a special edition, we join forces with fellow BBC podcast The Climate Question to share some of our favourite ways of fighting the impacts of climate change. Myra Anubi joins Jordan Dunbar to discuss solutions big and small - from tidal power in Northern Ireland to floating solar panels in Albania. Plus, we hear about pioneering community initiatives to protect forests in Borneo and Colombia.
Presenters: Jordan Dunbar and Myra AnubiProducers: Osman Iqbal, Craig Langran and Zoe GelberEditors: Simon Watts and Jon BithreySound mix: Tom Brignell
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Concerns are growing about the effects of smartphones on both adults and children, so we're looking at ways to reduce our dependence on these ubiquitous devices.
Presenter Myra Anubi attempts to ditch her smartphone for a week, while she finds out about a fast-growing campaign in which local parents get together to agree to delay buying them for their children. But Myra and her own daughter don't quite see eye-to-eye on the topic.
Plus Anna Holligan visits an innovative project called The Offline Club in Amsterdam, where people hand in their phones in exchange for a dose of good old real-life interaction.
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer: William KremerNetherlands reporter: Anna HolliganEditor: Jon BithreySound mix: Hal Haines
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Climate change is affecting us all. When the temperature goes up, many of us reach for the air conditioning. But that in itself is making things worse. AC units use a huge amount of electricity and most use hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants - also known as HFCs which contribute to climate change.
The International Energy Agency says over the next three decades demand for air conditioning is set to soar. But what’s the alternative?
We’ll hear from the Irish engineers who say they have the technology to revolutionise air conditioning and refrigeration by doing away with planet-warming HFC gases completely.
And we’ll talk to one of Africa’s leading architects, Francis Kéré, about how he combines traditional materials with modern designs - removing the need for air conditioning completely in his native Burkina Faso.
Plus we’ll hear from an American lawyer who helped craft the law in the US to keep in line with the international mandate to phase down refrigerant gases. He’ll tell us about alternatives to HFCs and how regulations have encouraged innovation.
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/reporter: Claire BowesEditor: Jon Bithrey
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As athletes from around the world strive for glory at the Paris Olympics, we look at how sport has a unique ability to change people’s lives for the better. In a refugee camp in Lebanon we meet those who are being inspired by that most traditional of sports, cricket. In Kenya we meet women from the toughest backgrounds who are taking on the world at football - and learning important life lessons as they go. Plus we hear the remarkable story of a cyclist from Afghanistan who is part of the Refugee Olympic Team.
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email [email protected]. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer: Richard KennyEditor: Jon BithreySound mix: Annie Gardiner
(Image: Vijana Amani Pamoja football team, Richard Kenny/BBC)
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From the way we catch food, to how we generate energy, human activity inevitably impacts on wildlife and the environment in unintended ways. So this week we’re looking at ways to reduce this collateral damage. We visit a windfarm in Finland that's using AI to predict bird flight paths and stop individual turbines before they cause damage. And we join some fishermen in Cyprus, who are using special green lights to warn turtles away from their nets.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/Cyprus reporter: Claire BatesFinland reporter: Erika BenkeEditor: Jon BithreySound mix: Hal Haines
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In the US, police officers spend about a fifth of their time responding to mental health crises. This is something they are often not trained for, and figures also show that people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter.
We go to Arizona where some 911 calls are now being responded to by mental health professionals who are trained to de-escalate a situation and help someone experiencing a crisis to get the support they need. This is part of a trend across the United States where a new nationwide mental health helpline called 988 has also recently been launched.
We also visit Denmark, where people going to their doctor with mental health issues are being prescribed ‘culture vitamins’ in an effort to tackle anxiety, stress and depression.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/US reporter: Craig LangranDenmark reporter: Adrienne MurrayEditor: Jon BithreySound Mix: Andrew Mills
(People in Aalborg, Denmark on street art tour, Adrienne Murray)
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In a special programme, Myra Anubi is in Nairobi, Kenya at the final of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation which rewards the best new innovators on the continent. Their exciting solutions deal with access to healthcare, plastic recycling, waste disposal and pest detection. She meets the finalists and finds out which one of them has walked away with the £50,000 prize.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer: Richard KennyEditor: Jon BithreySound Mix: Annie Gardiner
(Image: Finalists in the 2024 Africa Prize, Royal Academy of Engineering)
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Tourism brings money and opportunities to communities around the world, but it brings risks too. Sometimes an influx of tourists changes a place, damages the environment or leads to the exploitation of local people.
But the social enterprise Local Alike has a different model. They have worked with dozens of villages in Thailand to get them ready before “opening up” to tourists. During this process, which can take months or even years, they help locals identify the meals, activities and sights that will interest visitors, and they bring in outside investment to improve the village. Then they help establish a fair stream of revenue for the community.
We travel with Somsak Boonkam, the founder of Local Alike, as he faces his toughest challenge yet: to work with his own home town as it prepares for tourists.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/reporter: William KremerSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Andrew Mills
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Just over a quarter of people on the planet live in water stressed countries. And our increasing demands for water as well as climate change is putting even more pressure on this finite resource.
We take a look at how Indian farmers are growing crops with a device that stores rain underground. Plus how a test farm in the US uses a special clay liquid to grow vegetables in the desert. Finally we visit a project in Cyprus that could help coastal cities clean and reuse their wastewater in a more eco-friendly way.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/reporter: Claire BatesUS reporter: Anthony WallaceSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound Mix: Andrew Mills
(Image: Biplab Paul demonstrating his bhungroo device in Gujarat, India, Biplab Paul)
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US shopping malls, once a mainstay of American life, are in decline. Forty malls have closed since 2020, while more than 230 department stores have closed in the same time period, according to Green Street, a real estate analytics firm.
But where there is change, there is also opportunity.
After Burlington High School in Vermont had to close its doors because dangerous chemicals were found, the school hopped into a site vacated by Macy’s department store five years earlier.
The children now ride the escalator to class. Elsewhere, malls have been converted into offices, casinos or large healthcare facilities. We explore the surprising second life being offered to these temples of consumerism.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter: William KremerSeries producer: Tom CollsSound Mix: Anne GardinerEditor: Penny Murphy
Email: [email protected]
Image: Pupils at a school in a department store.
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What we wear helps us express ourselves and communicate to others in the most immediate way. But the tools we frequently use to do that, such as clothing and haircare are not available to everyone equally.
One in six of us has a disability of some sort - according to the World Health Organisation - but most clothing and beauty brands don’t take account of that. From making shops accessible to catering for differences in design and size, few companies address these particular needs.
This week on People Fixing The World we’re talking to people trying to change that. Hair and Care is a London-based hairstyling workshop which helps people with visual impairments take better care of their hair.
Plus, we bring together two entrepreneurs who’ve brought adaptive clothing to Africa and Asia allowing people with disabilities to fully express themselves in the way they dress. We also meet the UK-based adaptive clothing company that could affect the way we all dress – by working with technology companies to develop a scanner that will help in tailoring for all body shapes.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporters: Emma Tracey, Claire BowesProducer: Claire BowesSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Hal Haines
(Image: Wearapy model photoshoot)
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Mexico's capital often floods during the rainy season, but paradoxically, it's also running out of water. A large and growing population, along with crumbling infrastructure and the effects of climate change - are increasingly putting a strain on the city. We meet the army of scientists, activists and urban planners trying to solve this problem - and rethink Mexico City’s relationship with water - including the scientist using plants to clean sewage water and the architect who has designed a park that absorbs excess rainwater.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter/producer: Craig LangranSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Hal Haines
(Image: Alejandro Alva in Cuautepac wetland area, Mexico City, BBC)
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Poorer countries are likely to bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change, with rising temperatures and more unsettled weather leading to greater stresses on natural resources and often inadequate infrastructure. But whilst there’s a lot of focus on global attempts to limit temperature rises by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, there are many smaller scale projects aimed at both tackling and living with climate change.
On this edition of People Fixing The World, reporter Jane Chambers travels to the small Central American nation of El Salvador. She meets communities working to preserve highly endangered mangrove forests, crucial in protecting coastlines against flooding and valuable carbon sinks. She also visits a “shade coffee” plantation – where coffee is grown beneath a canopy of plants and trees – to hear how the method can help preserve rainforest and protect against soil erosion and water loss. And she visits a project on the Pacific coast that has made huge strides in protecting the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter: Jane ChambersSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Annie Gardiner
(Image: Aldo Sanchez and Boanergues Sanchez holding a hawksbill sea turtle, photo by Magali Portillo)
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If you could invent a new kind of school what would it look like? What skills would you teach children, and how would the school be run?
On this edition of People Fixing The World we visit the Mechai Pattana School in Thailand which was founded by the campaigner Mechai Viravaidya in 2008, on principals of charity and leadership. Children are responsible for every aspect of running the school, from buying food for the kitchens to disciplining fellow students and even recruiting new staff.
The children also run their own businesses, and perform several hours of community service every week. Many of the students come from underprivileged backgrounds, but their school fees are “paid” by planting 800 trees a year, together with their families.
The idea is for the school to produce “change-makers” – could it be a model for others to follow?
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/reporter: William KremerSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Annie Gardiner
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Across the world millions of women and girls face discrimination and worse because of their gender. On this edition of People Fixing The World we look at projects designed to change attitudes. In India we visit workshops aimed at recruiting younger men as allies in the fight against sexism and gender inequality. And we speak to the founder of Chalk Back, a street art initiative that encourages women to write sexist remarks they’ve been the target of onto pavements in chalk to highlight the problem of street harassment.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter: Chhavi SachdevSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Hal Haines
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Often described as underwater rainforests and the “lungs of the ocean”, kelp forests line as much as 25% of the world’s coastlines. They provide important shelter and food for fish and other marine life, and are vital for our oceans’ ecosystems. However kelp is under severe threat because of climate change, warming seas and overfishing. We look at projects in California aimed at stemming the decline of kelp including how scientists are growing it in a laboratory to be planted at sea as well as tackling a key cause of kelp degradation - sea urchins.
Presenter: Myra AnubiProducer/reporter: Craig LangranSeries Producer: Jon BithreyEditor: Tom BigwoodSound mix: Frank McWeeny
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Premature babies often need a lot of expensive specialised care - but that isn’t always available. So, doctors in Colombia are teaching mothers to look after their babies in a similar way that kangaroos look after their own young.
It’s called "kangaroo mother care" and instead of being in an incubator, babies are wrapped tightly against their mother’s skin.
The technique was developed in Bogota in the late 1970s as a response to overcrowding in hospital maternity units. There weren't enough incubators and around 70% of premature babies didn’t survive.
Doctors started using this simple skin-to-skin method. They found it wasn't only saving babies but was also helping them to thrive. Now, kangaroo care has spread around the world.
Presenter: Myra AnubiReporter: Zoe GelberSeries producer: Tom CollsSound mix: Hal HainesEditor: Richard VadonEmail: [email protected]: A baby in the kangaroo position
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The fashion industry is the third largest manufacturing industry in the world consuming huge amounts of the world’s resources and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. But some innovators are trying to make the industry more sustainable. We discover how old fire hoses in the UK have been diverted from landfill and turned into fashionable bags and accessories. Plus we visit Mongolia to find out about a new luxury material made from yak hair. It's an eco-friendly replacement for cashmere which comes from goats who are causing desertification. Presenter: Myra Anubi Producer/reporter: Claire Bowes Executive Producer: Richard Kenny Series Producer: Jon Bithrey Editor: Tom Bigwood Sound Mix: Andrew Mills
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