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Health Check: 17/01/2011

17/01/2011

BBC World Service - Health Check, 17/01/2011

Gabrielle Gifford's brain surgery. Breastfeeding. Health in Southern Sudan. Yoga in Kenya

Gabrielle Gifford's brain injury and surgery; exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months - is it always good advice? Health in Southern Sudan. And yoga to resolve conflict in Kenya

The US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, survived being shot in the head at close range in Arizona. She survived the injury by having her skull cut to allow her brain to swell without damaging it. Marc Nuwer, critical care expert and neurologist at the University of California Los Angeles discusses the surgical techniques used for these kinds of injuries. 

After the referendum in South Sudan many believe that the voters will choose to see the South gain independence from North Sudan. If so, the people of the South will be the country with some of the poorest healthcare in the world. Peter Martell in Juba, Sudan reports for the BBC. 

Some scientists are questioning the World Health Organisation's recommendation that ideally all mothers around the world should breastfeed exclusively for the first six months with no powdered milk or other foods. Mary Fewtrell from the Institute of Child Health in London is one of the authors of a new paper on the topic published in the British Medical Journal. She discusses the evidence that advice on breast feeding might not be the same for everyone across the world. 

During the violence following the disputed election in Kenya three years ago more than 1,200 Kenyans died and over half a million were displaced. Our East Africa correspondent, Kevin Mwachiro reports on one community reconciliation project which aims to allow people from different, once rival, tribes to talk and work together to discourage and reduce tribalism. And it uses yoga.

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