Bias in the way medical research is carried out means that new medicines for diseases such as cancer – as well as the tools used to diagnose patients with some conditions – are disproportionally tested on people of European heritage. This can lead to those not represented in the data being misdiagnosed as well as some treatments not working as well as they should.

From the Ghanaian scientist helping to develop cancer treatments which work better for African people, to the team in England using AI to diagnose dementia in communities where English isn’t widely spoken, in this programme we will meet the solution-seekers trying to make healthcare more equal.

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 Anubi

(Image: Dr Yaw Bediako in a laboratory, Yemaachi Biotech)

Myra Anubi is joined by BBC Access All presenter Emma Tracey to look at new technology that could help blind people in their everyday lives. Glide is a new mobility aid – it’s a device with wheels and cameras that aims to provide blind people with an alternative to white canes and guide dogs, while using AI to give them more information about their surroundings. Emma tries the gadget out in Los Angeles. She also looks at a device that is much simpler but in its own way revolutionary – the BrailleDoodle is a tactile tablet that makes it easy for blind children to learn braille, create art and understand graphs and diagrams.

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 Anubi

(Image: Emma Tracey walks across a road in LA with the Glide device, BBC)

This week we look at two projects that show how sport can be a powerful tool for social inclusion.

We go rowing with some refugees in Seville, Spain, and discover how being part of a crew has helped both adults and kids feel part of their new community.

And we join a special scheme in southern England that uses football coaching to break down barriers between police officers and local young people. The project is run by Brighton and Hove Albion Foundation in partnership with Sussex Police.

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 Anubi

(Image: Rowers on the Guadalquivir river, Seville/BBC)

There are more people alive and living for longer - but with that comes more people experiencing failing health. While some of this is inevitable, some can be reversible through rehabilitation.

The WHO says 2.6 billion people could benefit from rehabilitation services but in low and middle income countries fewer than half receive these services. We’ve found three projects which help promote independence and a better quality of life.

We hear how training doctors and nurses in basic rehabilitation skills is changing lives and communities in rural areas in countries as diverse as Uganda, China and Fiji.

We find out about the bracelets which look set to reverse some effects of Stroke and open the door to recovery. And we meet the online community of physiotherapists who are helping mentor new physios around the world.

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 Anubi

(Image: Azizova Mizhgona is given advice by physiotherapist Parvona Sheraeva,WHO/Tajikstan)

The global rhino population has fallen by 95% since 1900, mainly due to poaching. Now an atomic approach is being used to stop the poachers in South Africa by placing radioactive material into the horns of rhinos. We journey to the South African bush to meet the scientists - as well as the rhinos being protected.

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 Anubi

(Image: A rhino with its face covered, being guided by two vets in the Waterberg reserve, South Africa, Ayanda Charlie)

How do you stop people chopping down precious rainforest? In the Indonesian part of Borneo, researchers for a conservation charity discovered that local people were chopping down the rainforest around them for an incredibly understandable reason – they needed to pay for medical treatment for themselves and their children.

So they started a project that would hopefully protect the forest and help the local communities at the same time. They built a health centre and gave people a big discount on medical care if they stopped chopping down the trees. Ten years on, we visit the forest to see what happened next.

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.

We first podcast this episode in December 2023.

Presenter: Myra Anubi

In the red light districts of Kolkata, India, there exists an extraordinary youth club. DIKSHA, as it’s known, looks after the children of sex workers when their mothers are working. While they’re at the youth club, girls and boys learn about their rights and are empowered to take control of their futures. Since the club started in 2001 it has worked to prevent girls from joining the sex trade, and helped reduce the stigma facing children in the wider community. Reporter Puja Bhattacharjee meets the people behind the club and the families benefitting.

This programme contains adult themes.

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 Anubi

(Image: A group chatting at DIKSHA, BBC)

Around the world, rubbish is collecting in our gutters and waterways, with millions of tonnes being washed out to sea every year. As the soup of ocean debris kills and injures millions of marine animals, we look at two projects trying to make a dent in the problem. We discover a Greek project which has enlisted thousands of fishermen around the Mediterranean to collect rubbish from their nets, rather than throw it back. They then sort it and hand it over for recycling when they return to port. We then travel to Accra in Ghana where a group of volunteers called the Buz Stop Boys are busy clearing the streets of rubbish. They hope their noisy grassroots movement will inspire others to take responsibility for public places and stop rubbish being washed out to sea. And we hear from Teddy, our youngest problem fixer yet. The six year old from the UK has stopped thousands of sweets tubs from going to landfill, proving you're never too young to fix the world.

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 Anubi

(Image: A Greek fisherman with debris recovered from the sea, Daphne Tolis/BBC)

Globally, energy production and use is responsible for around 75% of the world’s carbon emissions, with around a third of that on electricity and heat alone. To tackle climate change, we need to get more energy from renewable sources, so this week we’re taking a look at some of the more surprising ways people have come up with to harness clean energy from the world around us.

In the United States, we see what happened when a group of concerned mothers forged a surprising alliance with a gas company, and worked together to get clean energy from the ground beneath their feet.

In Madagascar, we meet the grandmothers bringing solar light to their remote villages, plus we visit Wales, where an innovative new technology is harnessing power from the tides – by flying “kites” underwater.

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 Anubi

(Image: Solar Mamas at work, BBC/Sira Thierij)

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in every 100 people in Gaza have a life-changing injury because of the conflict. It’s currently impossible for most to leave the strip and get medical treatment but a team of Jordanian medics has been able to enter Gaza and fit war victims with cutting-edge prosthetics which clip on quickly and easily. The BBC’s Yolande Knell in Jerusalem has been hearing from innovators, doctors and those who are being helped about how the new technology works and how it could help in other parts of the world, either in conflict or in healthcare provision more generally.

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 Anubi

(Image: A man in Gaza being assisted as he walks with a new prosthetic leg, BBC)