Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Rebekah Schipper.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
I feel tired all the time.
Voice 4
I feel very weak.
Voice 5
My heart beats fast - even when I am not afraid or excited.
Voice 3
Sometimes I feel as if I do not have enough air to breathe. I feel like I may faint.
Voice 4
There is a pain in my head.
Voice 5
And I can never sleep.
Voice 1
The World Health Organization, the WHO, says that currently two billion [2,000,000,000] people world-wide experience at least one [1] or more of these symptoms. They are suffering from a blood disorder, a problem called anaemia.
Voice 2
Today’s Spotlight is on anaemia.
Voice 1
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, calls anaemia “a wide-spread public health problem.” The group says that anaemia influences general human health. But it also affects social and economic development.
Voice 2
It is one of the most difficult health problems to solve. And, so far, health experts have made little progress over the years toward solving the problem of anaemia.
Voice 1
Anaemia is not a disease. Instead, it is a complex disorder. It affects the blood. A person’s blood contains a few different fluids and cells. The most common kind of cell in blood is the red blood cell. Red blood cells help move oxygen through the body. They can do this because inside the red blood cells, there is a very important molecule called haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is mostly made up of the nutrient iron, and another molecule, protein.
Voice 2
Anaemic patients usually lack iron. So, they cannot make enough haemoglobin. This means they have fewer haemoglobin molecules to help move and hold oxygen. Without oxygen, a person’s body cannot work. The body needs a particular amount of haemoglobin to work correctly. When haemoglobin levels drop too low, doctors call this anaemia.
Voice 1
There are many reasons why haemoglobin levels may drop. But the most common cause of low haemoglobin levels, or anaemia, is lack of iron. Lack of iron is the cause of about fifty percent [50%] of anaemia cases.
Voice 2
Anaemia has many dangerous effects on the body. Lack of iron damages a person’s immune system. This is the system inside a person’s body that protects him from sickness. Anaemia makes a person tired. So, he works less and is not able to do as much. And anaemia can cause problems in a person’s brain. A person’s ability to think suffers. In children, the effects are even worse. Children who suffer from anaemia may not have correctly developed brains. Children born from an anaemic mother will also probably suffer from anaemia. Anaemia may affect them their whole lives.
Voice 1
Anaemia may also develop because of a poor diet. The most common way to get iron is through food. Eating food like green leafy vegetables, red meats, dried fruits, dried beans, and brown grains is a good way to get iron and other nutrients that a body needs. If people do not eat foods like this often, they lack important vitamins and nutrients.
Voice 2
Anaemia can also result from medical conditions that affect haemoglobin levels. For example, sometimes parasite infections can cause anaemia. Parasites are small organisms that live in other organisms. They take nutrients from the other organism’s body. A parasite living in a person takes nutrients away from the person, especially the nutrient iron. This can cause anaemia because the body does not have enough nutrients to work correctly.
Voice 1
Chronic, continuing, diseases can also cause anaemia. Infectious diseases like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis can make a person’s body weak. They also take important nutrients away from the body. Sometimes a person will not feel like eating. So, he is not taking nutrients into his body. Usually, treating the disease will help to treat the symptoms of anaemia.
Voice 2
Some causes of anaemia are only experienced in women. Every month, a healthy fertile woman loses an amount of blood in menstruation. Losing this blood is normal. But, a woman must put more nutrients in her body to take the place of the nutrients she has lost.
Voice 1
Particular conditions during pregnancy can also lead to anaemia. During pregnancy, a woman’s body may not expel liquids like it should. This means that there is too much liquid in the blood. And there are not enough red blood cells to transport nutrients and oxygen. Pregnant women may also lose too much blood during childbirth. Losing blood leads to loss of iron. If the woman does not receive treatment she may develop anaemia.
Voice 2
Anaemia affects particular people. But it also affects the social and economic conditions of a community. If children do not develop normally, they will not be healthy adults. They will not be able to work as well when they are older. Adults who suffer from anaemia will not be able to care for their children as well. And they may not be able to work as hard to provide food for their families.
Voice 1
Recently, the WHO and UNICEF promised to work harder to fight anaemia world-wide. Solving a wide-spread health problem can be extremely difficult. Experts must test the solutions and prove them safe. The solutions must not cost too much. And communities must be able to effectively copy the care methods. They must be able to provide the medicines that people need.
Voice 2
Solving the world-wide problem of anaemia will not be easy or simple. First, many people are not able to improve their diets. They are not able to get healthy food. Second, there are many diseases that threaten much of the world’s population - diseases like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. Sometimes it seems like these diseases are the most important. More people fight to stop these diseases.
Voice 1
So, the WHO and UNICEF know that they have a big fight in front of them. By 2010, they hope to reduce the reported cases of anaemia by one third [1/3]. They hope to train communities and health care workers to recognize the symptoms of anaemia. The WHO and UNICEF want to provide easy and low-cost methods to test blood for haemoglobin levels.
Voice 2
Preventing anaemia is the most important goal. But, increasing knowledge of anaemia is also very important. What does anaemia look like in your community? What can you do to improve the situation?
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