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People Fixing The World

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Discover the people and the projects trying to make the world a better place

Discover the people and the projects trying to make the world a better place.

Discover the people and the projects trying to make the world a better place.

A weekly programme looking at common challenges around the world and the creative ways people are trying to tackle them.

Presenter Myra Anubi speaks to reporters, experts and innovators to investigate how effective different solutions are, share their successes and inspire listeners with what is possible.

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People Fixing The World: The breath of life

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The breath of life

12/05/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - People Fixing The World, The breath of life

A clever way to provide life-saving oxygen

A clever invention is saving the lives of hundreds of children. 
 
Pneumonia kills about 1.4 million children under five every year. Treatment with concentrated oxygen could save many of them, but the machines that make it need a reliable source of electricity. Some hospitals have frequent power cuts, though, which can be fatal. 
 
So scientists in Australia and Uganda came up with an innovative way to produce oxygen by separating it from the rest of the air, using a vacuum created by running water.
 
Then they designed special bags that can store and deliver oxygen – even when the electricity cuts out. Their systems have provided oxygen for hundreds of sick children in Uganda.
 
People Fixing the World hears the story of these remarkable inventions.
 
Produced and presented by Ruth Evans

Picture credit: Peter Casamento

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