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Hey world, what's next?

February 8, 2023

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us one thing, it's how quickly new diseases can spring up on us. Is the next zoonotic disease brewing in Kenya? And could a robot in India finally bring an end to the unhealthy and banned practice of cleaning blocked sewage pipes by hand? We also hear how how health workers from the Philippines are carving out a new life for themselves abroad.

https://p.dw.com/p/4NFYM

There is a looming threat that new infectious diseases could spring up that are transmitted from animals to humans -- so-called zoonotic diseases. Heightened competition for pasture and scarce water sources in the regions of Kenya's Maasai and Samburu people have pushed herders into wilderness where greater contact with wildlife puts both people and livestock at risk.

Laura Salm-Reifferscheidt went to investigate.

 

Manually scraping out excrement from clogged pipes is anything but healthy. Even though India has long banned the practice, it's estimated that tens of thousands of people still risk their health doing exactly that. But why do people have to do it at all? Wouldn't that be the perfect job for a robot? That's what a couple of friends from engineering college thought as well. They put their heads together and developed a prototype for India’s first sewer cleaning robot.

Evelyn McClafferty has this story by Aditi Rajagopal. 

 

Germany, like other countries all over the world, has an aging population and thus is in need of caregivers. According to some estimates, by 2035, Germany alone will need half a million caregivers. It's a huge market – also for recruitment agencies abroad. So far, about 30,000 nurses from the Philippines are already working away from home.

Kathrin Erdmann went to find out more in Manila and her report is presented by Elliot Douglas.

Sarah Steffen Sarah works as radio host and producer, reporter and editor.