Global News Podcast - The Happy Pod: The simple plastic sheet saving lives

Episode Date: May 30, 2026

Researchers say a simple sheet of plastic is helping to prevent women dying after childbirth. The drape measures blood loss, which allows doctors to provide faster treatment. It's been successful in Nigeria, and now the health professionals want it used across the globe. Plus, meet Joy and Diane who have been friends for 60 years. It all started with one letter when they were 12 years old and they have been pen pals ever since. Also, the fishing group helping people with breast cancer. The woman trying to save endangered Indian Skimmer water birds. The rare rainforest that is being restored in Northern Ireland over the next 100 years, and the homes in Australia which are being adapted to help people with ADHD.Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.Presenter: Holly Gibbs. Music composed by Iona HampsonPicture credit: Gates Foundation/Nelson Owoicho

This is the Happy Pod from the BBC World Service. I'm Holly Gibbs and in this edition. I haven't seen any intervention that is saving women as much. So it's amazing. The simple plastic sheet that is saving the lives of thousands of women after childbirth. Also, the friendship spanning six decades and thousands of kilometres. Well, she's just a very special person in my life. I'm very blessed to have it.

We don't have the same blood running in our veins, but we are like sisters. It's really special. The fishing group supporting people with cancer. I'm here in this moment in time and it's just lovely. I get peace and separation from all the doctor's appointments. You just want it to go on forever. And? I can be myself and it's just I can control.

what I can do. Adapting homes to help people with ADHD. We start with a simple plastic sheet that is saving the lives of tens of thousands of women all over the world. Every year, around 14 million women globally have excessive bleeding after birth and 70,000 die. But researchers found that using a plastic drape to measure blood loss and then giving faster treatments has led to a 60% lower risk of serious complications. In fact, the findings were so extraordinary that the World Health Organization recommended the new treatment within just six months. I spoke to Dr. Hediza Galadanchi in Nigeria and also to Professor Ari Kumarasami here in the UK, who were both involved in the research.

As soon as we see that she's lost that, that amount of blood that is significant, we now immediately give her the bundle treatment. And the bundled treatment is the M-O-T-I-V-E. And that's where we have the E-M-Motive, which is an intervention. We needed to demonstrate that using the drape and using the bundled treatment, as Hadiza mentioned, would in fact improve the outcomes. So we needed to design and conduct a definitive clinical trial, which found a tremendous reduction in. the number of women who were bleeding excessively

or having surgery or indeed dying from postpartum hemorrhage. These were all reduced with the EMotive intervention. So Dr. Hidiza, how successful has this been in Nigeria? Very, very successful. In fact, I haven't seen any intervention that is saving women as much as the emotive trial. I've had people saying that from the day they started using the emotive intervention. Not a single woman has died, you know, due to excessive bleeding. So it's

amazing. And apart from saving life, it's even making our labour was very clean. Definitely healthcare workers can see the impact because we are saving women. The recommendation from the World Health Organization and other international bodies supports the use of it throughout the world. So the recommendation isn't restricted to just low-income countries. The need for an objective measurement device like this blood collection drape is needed for every vaginal birth, for every delivery throughout the world. And for both of you, a personal question, Professor Ari, let's start with you. How does it feel to be working on something that is saving lives and making such a difference to these women? It's a tremendous feeling. I've been doing clinical trials research for nearly three decades,

but to have a trial that produces the findings that EMotive trial did, which was a massive reduction in women suffering severe postpartum hemorrhage or dying from it, is not very common. But then to see that research finding being translated into policy and recommendations, And then health ministries and governments and healthcare providers throughout the world, taking up the intervention and making it a reality for women is truly a dream come true. So it's a tremendous feeling. I've worked as a doctor obstetrician in Nigeria for three decades and I've seen so many mothers, so many mothers come and have excessive bleeding. and die in front of me and without having the opportunity to save them. So really, you know, with the findings of the way, you know, the intervention has really,

or is really saving lives. I mean, it was a feeling that finally we've gotten something. And we're able to do this in six months from the time of the publication of the emotive result to the time WHO, you know, included. it in its recommendation was just six months. But then, even the more exciting thing is that, you know, with that recommendation, almost every single country is trying to see how they can, you know, introduce that innovation into practice. It's going to be everywhere in this world. And that's the greatest feeling. In fact, the impact is beyond our imagination. Dr. Hediza Galadanchi and

Professor Ari Kumar Asami. Now to two best friends who have proved that distance is no barrier. Despite living on opposite sides of the world, Joy and Diane have maintained a friendship that has lasted for more than 60 years, and it all started with one letter. The Happy Pod's Helena Burke has been speaking to them, one in Canada and the other in Australia. Joy and Diane first met back in 1965,

via a letter. Back in the 60s, there was a pen pal column in the Vancouver Sun, which was the provincial newspaper. And one of my hobbies was pen pales. So when a name came up from Australia, which happened to be Jenny, I wrote to her because I'd always been interested in Australia, and I was 12 at the time. So I sent my letter off to Jenny.

And then what happened, Joy? Well, Jenny got so many replies that, she said to me, she was my friend, and she said, oh, would you like one of the letters? And lo and behold, it come from Diane Senneshaw from Canada. And that's where it started. Then I wrote back to her. The girls remained close throughout their teens, writing to each other regularly about school, music and friends. As technology has evolved, they've switched from letters to emails and now texts and video calls.

I'm very aware if Joy rates me in the middle of the night, I tell her that she has to go to bed and get some sleep. And Elwyn, remember that one time, Joy, when I got mixed up with phoning and I phoned you in the middle of the night? Yeah. I said, don't worry about it. Just keep talking. She said, I know I'll ring you back.

The friendship has also shifted and grown as time has gone by. We were very busy with our lives when our children were small and, you know, we're working. But sort of as we've got older, things have changed, hasn't it? We got closer and... Yeah, we have. And I think the real special thing about our families is that when Joy and I started getting too busy to write,

our moms were retired and they became pen pals and they kept us in touch through their letters too. So even though we were busy, we never lost that relationship. We still knew about each other, even if we weren't writing back and forth as often. So I'm very thankful that our moms kept us in touch. Yeah, me too. After 15 years of writing to each other, the women first met in person in 1980 in a small town of Renmark in South Australia, where Joy lives.

Since then, they've met up several times with their husbands in tow. So we've been to Australia six times, right, Joy? That's right? And Joy, how many for you? Three, we've been to Canada. And another nice thing is that both are men like each other too, which makes it easier for us because that is important in a relationship that the couples are close, not just the women.

Joy and Diane say one of the benefits of having a best friend on the other side of the world is that when you tell them your secrets, they don't get spread into the local community. I'm so comfortable with Joy and I just feel that I can tell her safely anything, so she's my confident. She was just telling me about some letters she wrote about things that maybe she should burn before she dies because maybe nobody else should read them. It's just, it's a safe place for me, and I can vent with her. In fact, you know, I consider her a sister.

I have two sisters, but Joy is also a sister because she's, well, she's just a very special person in my life. I'm very blessed to have her. We don't have the same blood running in our veins, but we are like sisters. Yeah, it's really special. They hope their story will encourage other people to not let distance be a barrier to maintaining close relationships. Distance doesn't have to influence how you feel about a person, you know, like even if I hadn't met joy, I think I still would be very connected to her just because we are very similar. And, you know, don't let distance be a deterrent for anything. It'd be nice if more people wrote or had a relationship like you and I have.

It's really important, obviously, to you and to me, and it was to our mums. So, you know, if you've got a friend overseas, I think it's really important that you try and keep the connection going. And I think I won the lottery because I'm really glad that I got Joy. Well, I reckon I won the lottery. Joy and Diane speaking to Helena Burke. For the past 18 years, a group of volunteers have given up their time to teach fly fishing to people with breast cancer. The charity Fishing for Life aims to help with both physical and mental well-being. Jane McCubbin has been to one of their riverside branches in the southwest of England.

For Libby, for Jane, for Heather and Andrew, this is the sound of healing. I'm here in this moment in time. and it's just lovely. Like when you're going to supermarket and you hear that do-do, do, all the time. It reminds you of a hospital, the equipment that they have in hospital. Those sounds take you back, but you don't get that here.

So lift up, cast out. I get peace and separation from all the doctor's appointments. And you just lift. Well, you just want it to go on forever. 18 years ago, Gillian, pain set up fishing for life to teach fly fishing to people with breast cancer. Andrew represents the less than 1% of sufferers who are men who is diagnosed a year ago. You could see the difference of them.

Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah, totally different now. He wouldn't talk. He'd be sat in your chair. He'd just, there's no point carrying on. Put it through your finger like we did last time. I can see he's not thinking about anything else. I think Jimis wanted to give back and it's amazing.

I don't know how many. she's set up but this one's great. Today there are 10 fishing for life groups all over the country free for anyone with breast cancer. That's the first dropper. Heather is one of the volunteer coaches. Because you are going to catch one. Well I'm going to do my very best. Heather was a volunteer for almost a decade before she got her own diagnosis. So I phoned Gillian and said I've become one of the girls. If I can help anyone to catch some fish, That would be great.

Enjoying the sunshine in the fresh air, moving their shoulders wherever they've had breast cancer to help the lymphatic, help the muscles get better after surgery, to enjoy it. We're counting on you to net the fish, Reg. Wow, you've got one. Wow, that's my first fish. I've never caught a fish before. Really exciting. normally just catch weed.

So I'm sort of halfway through my treatment. Adrian is helping to coach Libby. Is he good? It's rubbish. If they're same time good ourselves, it wasn't me. We're casting at the same time, and we've hooked each other's lines. I'm learning all the time. Adrian first came here as a husband supporting a wife.

When she died, he stayed on as a volunteer. It was literally a week before Christmas. you know so four months ago ish yeah this you know helps me sort of have a break from thinking about things yeah right this is the one

you think we all get as much out of it all the volunteers as much as they do and when you see the people and how much satisfaction how it changes their lives hundreds have helped here and have been helped

finding peace and hope from the steady concentration of casting a line. Oh, thank you so much. Thank you very much. Three months ago, I wasn't doing anything. Just sitting at home, getting depressed, and this stops that process. All your worries and your trouble seem to just melt away.

Andrew, ending that report from Jane McCubbin. Coming up on the Happy Pod, protecting a rare rainforest in Northern Ireland, and endangered birds in India. It's a win-win for the community staying on the bank of the river because they are getting seasonal employment, as well it's a win-win for the species that they are getting protection from the people on the bank of the river.

You're listening to The Happy Pots. To Australia, with homes that are being adapted for ADHD. It's thought one in 20 children around the world have the neurodivergent condition. It can lead to a range of issues, including difficulty with attention span and impulsive behavior. Louise Mylin from ABC News went to meet one family in Tasmania. I've pulled up to a suburban unit in Lonsestin.

Hello. Hi, how are you? I probably be quiet. It's home to Linda and her two boys, and we're keeping a little quiet at first because four-year-old Aymn is napping. Linda and Evan both have ADHD and both boys have autism. I guess I'd never quite know what I should be doing.

Like, I'm overthinking it, I think, is, for me, is like, okay, I've been, I'm having a cup of tea, okay, I should sit there, I should do this. Through chatting with other families about ADHD, reading articles and listening to podcasts, she realized something had to change. Like many kids, especially those with ADHD,

Evan and Amon seek a lot of sensory stimulation, jumping, spinning, hanging upside down. Their house has hard floors, which weren't suitable. Instead, there's a soft, squishy mat in the living room. It feels like I'm walking on pillows. If you just take your socks off, it will feel nice on your feet. In the playroom, the star of the show is a bright blue hammock-like swing hanging from the roof.

In the corner, a climbing frame with two gymnastics rings attached with rope. So now you're putting your feet through one loop. and your foot in the other one and you're hanging from a bar sitting down into it. Yeah and now. For Linda, creating a space for her children with movement-based activity in mind

is really important. The key is to have a stimulating environment. Putting her children in front of a screen just wouldn't cut it. For 11-year-old Evan, the designing of the play area has had huge benefits. It's like a feeling where I can be myself

and it's just I can control what I can do. Linda's family has also embraced visual cues. Stuff or oats, cereal or visible. I know it sounds really basic, but having my kettle, my tea, coffee, sugar and whatever I drink,

right there out, ready, and things I access all the time actually visible helps me, And there's the easy hack of labelling baskets around the house for placing specific items. Known informally as the ADHD tax, many with the condition have to repurchase items like watches and keys because they regularly lose them. Clutter can also be a big challenge for people with ADHD, so to avoid brain overload, it can be helpful to stash stuff in easily accessible spots. In the boys' playroom, a couch cushion lifts up to reveal a massive toy box so the kids can throw. their stuff in without it being an overstimulating mess.

Evan even uses a whiteboard with clickable lights for visual cues in his morning routine. I find it hard to get out of bed and get dressed on time. I can't make my body actually do it, but I want to. And so I've put this up, so then I can do this. And you're lighting up the lights when you press them. And they'll be on. And then when I finish something, I turn them up. A tour of Linda's place has shown me that one person and a bit of creative thinking

can go a long way to making life easier for people with ADHD. And Linda's not the only one making changes. I've spoken to architects across Australia who have moved into the business of creating neurodivergent friendly interiors. Back in the playroom, 11-year-old Evan is in his customized swing, relaxing and playing with a Rubik's Cube. Done. That was just about 20 seconds, I reckon.

That was impressive. When you get home to your own place and these rooms with your swing and your big cushion, how does that feel? It feels like that I can wind down and actually be somewhere where I like being. That report was from Louise Mylin and you can hear more about supporting people with ADHD on People Fixing the World wherever you get your BBC podcasts. A scientist has been awarded a prestigious conservation award for her efforts to protect the endangered Indian skimmer.

India is home to 90% of the global population of the black and white waterbird, but their ability to create safe nests has been under threat, as Branca Lesser-Dissar reports. That's the sound of the Indian skimmer, a unique orange-billed waterbird native to South Asia. Skimmers tend to lay their eggs on sandbanks in the middle of rivers or other bodies of water. The Chambal River, in central and northern India,

is one of the foremost breeding habitat. for the skimmer. But for years, their population along the Chambal has been in steady decline. It's a mystery that Parveen Sheikh, the scientists with the Bombay Natural History Society, decided to investigate. It's a very beautiful, popular bird, but we didn't know what exactly is the problem for them by their declining. Parvin discovered that changing water levels were leaving the skimmers' nests vulnerable to predators.

So these birds mainly nest directly on. the sandbars that emerge in between of rivers during peak summers. The water which is surrounded on the sandbar is a natural protection to them. But I realize that rivers have changed and this sandbar starts getting connected to the bank when the water level decreases. And that led to free-ranging docks that excess the sandbars and predate on the eggs. And that was a very sad scenario to see because a very large loss of eggs and chicks were happening. Parveen decided that she wanted to do something to help protect the skimmer population.

She realised that simply guarding their nesting area had a huge impact. We were monitoring approximately more than 10, 15 nest on one island. There were a couple of days left for the chicks to hatch out. When we walked on the nesting sandbar to do the daily monitoring, we realized that the birds were very disturbed. And we saw that a couple of dogs have predated everything. only the last remaining two eggs. And we realize that it is possible that if we completely keep the predator outside

and not let the livestock come on the sandbars, the birds still have chance to, and the eggs and chicks have the chance to survive. Parveen and Hattim decided to engage local communities in the project, employing them as nest guardians. We experimented with a couple of nesting sites where we appointed the local community members. We trained them and we told them to protect this nesting colony and to our surprise, more than 60% of the chicks successfully fleshed from this nesting colony. Now, Parvin's team supports over 30 nest guardians

who provide round-a-clock protection for skimmer nesting areas. Thanks to their work, the skimmer population on the Chambal has more than doubled. It's a win-win for the community staying on the bank of the river because they are getting seasonal employment, as well it is a win-win for the species that they are getting protection. from the people on the bank of the river. Parvin's advice for other conservationists? Conservation is challenging, but believe it in yourself.

Believe it in your program. And the one thing that we have learned that people need to be part of conservation. It's very important that the communities around this species need to be part of the conservation program. That report was from Branca Lassadisar. We end in Northern Ireland where a rare and environmentally important rainforest

is set to come back to life over the next century. It's not the tropical kind you might be thinking of when you hear the word rainforest. This is an ancient and precious woodland known as a temperate rainforest, as John Martin from the Woodland Trust explains. We are trying to make the UK and Northern Ireland in particular better for nature and for people.

We believe that woodlands provide a lot of health and well-being benefits for people, but also the nature benefits. as well, you know, in terms of carbon capture, climate resilience, a clear kind of nature-based solution to some of the climate nature crisis we find ourselves in at the minute. It's one of the UK and Ireland's most threatened habitats. John Martin also explained why this work is important. Temperate rainforest occurs in areas of high rainfall, mild temperatures and strong kind of ocean influence. It's usually characterized by native tree species, such as, is oak, birch, alder and hazel, and complex woodland structures, including like ravines,

rivers, rocky outcrops, etc. And a low, kind of less visually dramatic than tropical rainforests. These systems support extraordinarily specialized and often, like globally rare species of flora and fauna's woodland creation along that temperate rainforest zone is really important because future generations will benefit from the nature-based solutions that that rainforest provides. Almost 30,000 native trees have been planted in the 41-acre site. That's around 25 football pitches. It will take about a year to see the tips of the trees sprouting up through their protective plastic tubes,

but it will be at least 100 years before they're fully grown. Rosemary Mull Holland is part of the Ulster Wildlife Team, who are running this restoration. Over the years, these trees will grow, and it's good to know that I was there at the start. It's a great privilege to take this land and turn it into a habitat that is now largely lost. You know, we would have had a lot of this forest all over Ireland at one time. It's a very rare habitat. It's actually rarer than tropical rainforest, but it'll do a great job as well as supporting wildlife.

It will reduce runoff of water, you know, reduce. risk of flooding and it will be open to people. John Martin and Rosemary Mullholland. And that's all from the Happy Pod for now. We'd love to hear from you. As ever, the address is Global Podcast at BBC.co.uk. This edition was produced by Rachel Bulkley. The editor is Karen Martin.

I'm Holly Gibbs. Until next time, goodbye.