Health Check

Many people with infertility use in vitro fertilisation (IVF), however the probability of having a baby following IVF is only approximately 30-40% per cycle and decreases significantly with age. It can be a lengthy and expensive process. Providers sometimes offer ‘add-ons’, additional treatments that they claim could help patients conceive, which are themselves also usually expensive. In Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom more than 70% of patients pay for at least one of these add-ons. A new review published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health journal has found that evidence on the benefits of these add-on treatments is unclear. Claudia Hammond speaks to Dr Sarah Lensen, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health at the University of Melbourne.
Joining Claudia from Ghana is genito-urinary consultant and HIV expert, Vanessa Apea. Claudia and Vanessa discuss a draft African Charter on Family, Sovereignty and Values, which claims that comprehensive sex education, as well as a range of sexual and reproductive health rights, are a threat to African families from foreign ideologies.
They also discuss a report from the Office of Inspector General of US Agency for International Development (USAID) which reveals that President Donald Trump’s administration has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in storage and transportation costs for $9.7 million worth of contraceptives that are being stored in Belgium rather than distributed to the various low-income countries they were intended for. Many of the withheld contraceptives are now expired or unusable due to their removal from temperature-controlled storage.
We also hear from Health Check reporter Jane Chambers in the Chilean city of Valdivia, where wetlands are part of everyday life—and increasingly, part of people’s health. And we hear how faecal-microbiome transplants could improve the efficacy of some antidepressants in patients with major depressive disorder.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producers: Jonathan Blackwell & Georgia Christie

The WHO has conducted their first global assessment of food contamination in over a decade and found that more than 1.5 million people are killed by food poisoning every year. Dr Ann Robinson joins Claudia Hammond to discuss the common causes of foodborne illness.
Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis which can cause sudden and severe joint pain. Claudia is joined by Professor Nicola Dalbeth an academic rheumatologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand to discuss misconceptions about the disease.
Reporter Tony Vinyoh then brings us to Cameroon, where Mbingo Baptist hospital is creating its own compressed oxygen supply to address the shortages and high costs of life-saving medical interventions.
We also discuss a new wearable ultrasound patch which could detect pregnancy complications in real-time, and we hear about a weekly 5 kilometre run in a park which has grown to become a global phenomenon - with over one million events across 5 continents and 23 countries - promoting regular exercise and well-being.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producers: Jonathan Blackwell and Georgia Christie

How does reading shape our mind and spirit? Why do novels make us feel more human?
In front of a live audience at the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts in Wales in the UK, Claudia Hammond looks at the science of what reading does to the mind and explores the profound impact it can have on our lives and well-being.
She is joined on stage by award-winning novelist and travel writer Joanna Kavenna; Dr Paula Byrne, Jane Austen biographer, writer and co-founder of ReLit: The Bibliotherapy Foundation and Ben Alderson-Day, Professor in Psychology at Durham University and lead researcher on ReaderBank, an ongoing research project studying reading, imagination and wellbeing.
With these leading experts in psychology and the literary world, she examines the range of imaginative experiences that fiction readers have, whether novels can deepen our capacity for empathy and the therapeutic effect of reading on our minds.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Helena Selby

From heat exhaustion to dengue fever - monitoring public health risks at the biggest tournament in football history.
With millions of fans travelling to the USA, Canada and Mexico for the men’s football World Cup, Claudia Hammond speaks to Professor Rebecca Katz from Georgetown University in Washington DC who is the Director of the newly set up Health Security Operations Center, a surveillance hub to track threats to health, monitoring the risk of diseases such as measles, dengue and chikungunya.
With the World Cup coinciding with rainy season in Mexico, which also means mosquito season, our reporter Rogelio Navarro in Guadalajara brings us the latest on efforts in Jalisco state to prevent outbreaks of dengue which is transmitted by mosquitoes.
And the potential for health issues due to extreme heat has caused concerns amongst players, spectators and scientists. At the men’s FIFA Club World Cup in the USA last year Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez spoke out about the difficulties of playing in high temperatures. We hear from Norwegian international midfielder Morten Thorsby and Douglas Casa, CEO of the Korey Stringer Institute and Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Connecticut, who have written to tournament organisers, FIFA, calling for stronger heat protection measures for players and spectators.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Jonathan Blackwell
Image: Aziz Behich and Mathew Leckie of Australia drink water during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group D match between Australia and Denmark at Al Janoub Stadium on November 30, 2022 in Al Wakrah, Qatar

Three months into the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, we find out about the 20,000 sailors trapped on board with dwindling resources and minimal health provision. We hear from Mohamed Arrachedi, Network Co-ordinator for the Arab World and Iran for the International Transport Workers’ Federation, and Helen Sampson, Emeritus Professor in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University.
News from the World Health Assembly where WHO member countries come together for form health policy for the year ahead. Global Health journalist Andrew Green reports.
Lots of us love a video game, but for a few the games can start to take over their lives, and the impact of a gaming disorder can be very serious – especially for children. Our reporter Kate Ferguson reports from a specialist clinic in Western Australia to find out how they have been tackling the issue
One in four surveyed doctors thought preservation was likely to work in the future, but how might we be preserved and why would we want to be? We unpack the reality of what’s possible now and what might be next.
Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer: Hannah Robins, Clare Salisbury,
Researcher: Scarlett Victoria
This programme was edited on 29/05/2026