Health Matters

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Listen to Health Matters Updated weekly at 10:06 GMT on Monday

Global plan to stop TB
TB affects every third person on Earth. It kills 5000 people every day, despite the fact that the infection can be cured with drugs that cost just a few dollars.

Nearly 9 million new cases develop every year, mostly in the poorer communities of developing countries.

The Global Plan to Stop TB is being launched this week, with the aim of halving death rates by treating 50 million people in the next 10 years.

Helping to promote the initiative is Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who knows only too well the misery of this disease. He spent nearly two years recovering from TB in his youth.

Healthy heart and Statins
Statins have been used for lowering levels of the blood fat cholesterol for some years now.

This week there was a report that statins could reverse the build up of fat in the coronary arteries, the process that leads to heart attacks.

Trisha MacNair asks Shah Ebrahim, Professor of Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, whether statins are as good as these claims.

Living with Hydrocephalus
As many as 1 in 200 children are born with a condition called hydrocephalus, while others develop it as a complication of problems such as infections or haemorrhages in the brain.

In hydrocephalus there is an increase in the amount of fluid that bathes the brain. This causes a rise in pressure inside the skull, which will damage the delicate structures of the brain if it isn’t urgently treated.

With the help of his parents Vikrant and Alka, and older brothers and sisters, 12 year old Siddant has battled to lead a normal life despite the consequences of hydrocephalus. His family talk about living with the condition.

Safe Water around the world - World Water Day 22nd March
Water – the elixir of life. For many it’s a daily battle simply to find enough water to survive, whilst others are able to enjoy a plentiful supply of fresh water flowing straight from their taps.

But wherever we get our water from, we’re all concerned about whether it is safe to drink, and what effects it might have on our health.

In California, America, tap water is clean. Even so, the market for bottled water is soaring. But do people there really need it? Molly Bentley reports from San Francisco.

In Uganda it is safer to drink bottled water but it is too expensive for most people. Christine Otieno reports from Kampala.

Robert Boss, a scientist in the Water and sanitation Health Programme at the World Health Organisation in Geneva, talks to Trisha MacNair about the state of the world’s water.