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HealthGlobal issues

We need to talk about antibiotics & sugar

March 29, 2023

This week on the show: How our overuse of antibiotics puts us all at risk of superbugs that are immune to the drugs we currently have. Plus the dangers of sugar and the taboo of head lice.

https://p.dw.com/p/4PRX7

Our overuse of antibiotics is killing us

Superbugs, the strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, are estimated to kill over one million people per year. The World Health Organization calls antimicrobial resistance one of the top global health threats that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves.

With its big neighbor India, Nepal lies in one of the most heavily implicated regions of the world. This report was funded by the European Journalism Centre through the Global Health Security Call,a program supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

Report: Laura Salm-Reifferscheidt, Nepal

How sugar is keeping us addicted

Another kind of dangerous health risk that's looming on the horizon is diabetes. In the Mexican state of Chiapas, diabetes is the second leading cause of death. Here, clean water is often hard to come by – however, access to soft drinks like coca cola is easy.

On average, two liters of the soft drink are drunk per person per day – that's a world record. The number of deaths caused by diabetes have reportedly doubled in the past decade.

Report: Marie-Kristin Boese, voiced by Evelyn McClafferty

Getting rid of head lice 

No one really likes to talk about head lice... they are found all over the world. Personal hygiene or cleanliness at home, school or kindergarten has nothing to do with getting them. 

Getting rid of lice requires a special treatment – it's not enough to just wash hair. That can be a bit of a process – and there are some special hairdressers that are up for the task. Like one hairdresser in Tel Aviv who has been running a very successful business for the past decade.

Report: Kilian Neuwert, voiced by Ineke Mules 

 

Sarah Steffen Author and editor with a keen interest on underreported crises.
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