When the Myanmar military staged a coup d’état in February 2021, many healthcare workers became the first government employees to react, announcing a boycott of state-run hospitals. Today, there are doctors, nurses and other health workers providing services across the country, outside of state hospitals and often in secret. Claudia Hammond hears how they are struggling to provide clinics with dwindling resources and equipment and about the impact it’s having on people’s health.

We hear from Salvador in Brazil where a joint effort between local people, the Federal University of Bahia and the University of Liverpool is aiming to track rats to try to control the spread of the bacterial disease Leptospirosis.

And Professor of Integrated Community Child Health at University College London, Monica Lakhanpaul brings us new research to discuss on the effects of polluted water on babies, why taking a short nap might be good for brain health. And an early study that suggests the painful condition Endometriosis, where tissue from the lining of the uterus moves to other organs in the body, might be caused by bacteria. If the link exists, could it provide hope for new treatments?

Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Clare Salisbury Assistant Producer: Jonathan Blackwell Production Coordinator: Jonathan Harris

Image Credit: Visoot Uthairam | GETTY IMAGES | Creative #:862142692

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Healthcare under threat in Myanmar