In the course of 2006 we are broadcasting a series of special programmes focusing on different aspects of health in Central Europe. What new health problems are Central Europe's citizens facing? What is the legacy of communism? What challenges and opportunities have emerged with the opening of borders? What are the region's special achievements? These are just a few of the questions that we ask and try to answer in the series. You can hear the programme once a month on all the regular Insight Central Europe frequencies. You can also listen to each programme on demand (after the date of first broadcast), and you will find all the reports in text here on the ICE website. Here are some of the topics featured in the series:

From bread queues to obesity in Poland in just two decades; anorexia in Slovakia; cardio-vascular illness still a serious challenge in Hungary, and Central Europeans limber up in the gym.

Contrasting views on stem cell research in the Czech Republic and Hungary; are Poland’s tough abortion laws putting women’s lives at risk?; do Slovak doctors ignore their own code of ethics, and can this be changed by new legislation?, and hospices in Slovenia – seeking a dignified way of dying

Asbestos in Slovenia – a serious long-term problem; the legacy of Chernobyl in Central Europe; sound pollution in the Czech Republic; the impact on air quality of deforestation in Slovakia’s Tatra Mountains; “indoor” pollution in Hungary.

Do laws in the Czech Republic and Slovakia go far enough to protect non-smokers? Are Central Europeans turning away from bad old habits?

A disturbing increase in teenage suicides in Poland; community psychiatric care in Hungary; castles in Slovenia – where not to care for the mentally ill, and Prague’s “Half-Way Café”.

Keeping the wrinkles at bay in the gym in Slovakia; the growing popularity of private nursing homes in Poland; meals on wheels in the Czech capital, and could Slovenia’s ageing population transform the political landscape?

Poland’s successful heart surgeons and a Hungarian innovation in the battle against cardio-vascular disease; the female prostate – an surprise discovery by Slovak doctors, and Austria seeks a cure for AIDS.