Streamed live from the COP27 climate talks in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt – Medact members brought together a panel of activists from the global movement for health and climate justice to discuss the need for a transformative Green New Deal that centres the health of people and planet! Speakers include: Asad Rehman – War on Want, UK Omar Elmawi – Stop E…

What impact has two decades’ worth of policing and counterterrorism had on the state of mind of Muslims in Britain? The Suspect draws on the author’s experiences to take the reader on a journey through British counterterrorism practices and the policing of Muslims. Join Rizwaan Sabir and Tarek Younis for discussion on the traumatising effects of Sa…

Listen back to the event celebrating the publication of the sixth edition of Global Health Watch. Hear from speakers who contributed to this essential volume, which integrates rigorous analysis with stories of struggle and hope for radical transformation, at this once-in-a-generation moment of focus on the issue of health justice. Speakers include:…

The online launch of three brand new pamphlets developed by members of the Economic Justice & Health group. These booklets explore the key campaigning areas of secure housing, tax justice and liveable incomes, and provide an informative resource for those looking to fight against economic and health injustice. Hear from a great line-up of speakers …

It is possible to create a society in which our collective safety and wellbeing are prioritised. Developing trusting, healthy relationships with all of our patients is essential to this work. However, Prevent – with the government’s stated aim of identifying “vulnerability to radicalisation” – compromises all of this, and is a source of harm and in…

Read the briefing: link.medact.org/PolicingBill Watch this event on YouTube: youtu.be/hqDFFtF7nMA The government has misleadingly branded the racist and dangerous PCSC (Policing) Bill a “public health approach” to combating serious violence. But health workers in the Medact Research Network have debunked these claims in a new briefing. Written to s…

On the 25th May 2021 we held our second Alternative Training on Prevent in Healthcare to explore what you aren't being told about Prevent in safeguarding training. The training shed light on some unanswered questions about Prevent and we heard from: Members of Medact’s Securitisation of Health Group (SHG) Susan Wright ─ a crime and human rights bar…

On the 19th May 2021, we held an event to launch our latest report Racism, mental health and pre-crime policing: the ethics of Vulnerability Support Hubs. The report is based on documents obtained through a series of long-running Freedom of Information requests and exposes how a counterterrorism police-led project blurs the boundaries between secur…

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC) is a dangerous piece of legislation that undermines our fundamental rights, threatens all our safety, and implicates health workers in the expansion of violent police powers. Medact and Docs Not Cops have joined the Kill The Bill Coalition to stand in solidarity with everyone targeted by the Bill…

The Health for a Green New Deal campaign seeks to build mass support in the health community for a transformative Green New Deal and to organise health workers and students to advocate for a just transition to a zero-carbon society. The Medact Climate & Health research cluster has been working on a briefing that sets out the public health case for …

It is possible to create a society in which our collective safety and wellbeing are prioritised. Developing trusting, healthy relationships with all of our patients is essential to this work. However, Prevent ─ with the government’s stated aim of identifying “vulnerability to radicalisation” ─ compromises all of this, and is a source of harm and in…

On the 16th February 2021 we held the online launch of of our latest briefing ‘Health Versus Wealth? UK Economic Policy and Public Health During COVID-19’. The briefing considers how a false dichotomy between public health and economic wealth has contributed to the pandemic taking such a tragic course in the UK. It also considers how cuts to essent…

On the 9th July 2020 we held an Action Call to build the Health Movement for a Green New Deal. We discussed the what, why and how of building the health movement for transformative climate justice and were joined by special guest speakers: Dr Abdul El-Sayed – Former Health Director of Detroit and professor at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Hea…

On the 2nd July 2020 we held the online launch of our latest report ‘False Positives: the Prevent counter-extremism policy in healthcare’. This report brings together new research that seeks to shed light on the implications of the Prevent duty in UK health services. Prevent is a controversial strand of the government’s counter-extremism strategy t…

Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic reached the UK, it became clear that the NHS was not sufficiently equipped or staffed to respond to the crisis. In March, the government put out a call for industry to convert its production to manufacture crucial medical equipment, such as ventilators and PPE for frontline workers. To date, a number of arms and def…

Environment programme lead David Powell discusses a partnership between the New Economic Foundation and the African Centre for a Green Economy looking at the dynamics between economic inequality and sustainability in four case studies from around Kenya.

John Lanchbery is the Principal Advisor on climate change at the RSPB and a lead member of the BirdLife International team on climate change. At the conference he shared his insight on the COP21 Paris Agreement and what progress has been made towards the agreed goals.

Humanity's central challenge in the 21st century is to realise the human rights of all within the means of this life-giving planet. In other words, we need to get into the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries. Kate will show why addressing this challenge has to start with a new understanding of human prosperity, and will set out the six key …

The IPCC’s latest report, and the commitments enshrined in the Paris Agreement have reshaped the climate change agenda. Whilst the former establishes carbon budgets as the appropriate scientific foundation for mitigation policy, the latter obligates the international community ‘to hold the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C’.T…

MD and Founder of Health in Harmony, Kinari Webb, shares her insights on her organisation’s work improving the lives of people in the communities around Gunung Palung National Park in Borneo through increased and affordable health care, decreased logging of the park and introduction of alternative incomes sources.…

Professor Corinna Hawkes provides a broad global perspective on the central challenges for food systems, as an opening to the Food stream of the conference.

Annie Quick, lead for Wellbeing and Inequality at the New Economics Foundation, outlines some of the issues around inequality and the environment in the UK, considers the political context, and attempts to offer a hope for the future.

Dr Lisa Page considers how we can conduct robust epidemiological research on how rising heat affects mental health.From the session "Climate Change & Mental Health" at Medact's 2016 Forum "Healthy Planet, Better World".Find out more at https://www.medact.org/forum-2016

Hugh Grant-Peterkin considers how psychotherapeutic thinking can help us understand our response to climate change; and opens up the session to a group discussion.From the session "Climate Change & Mental Health" at Medact's 2016 Forum "Healthy Planet, Better World".Find out more at https://www.medact.org/forum-2016…

Sally Weintrobe discusses the relationship between mental health, climate change, and a culture of uncare, arguing that climate change is a symptom of a much deeper problem affecting mental health.From the session "Climate Change & Mental Health" at Medact's 2016 Forum "Healthy Planet, Better World".Find out more at http://www.sallyweintrobe.com/ a…

David McCoy speaking at Medact's Fracking Masterclass in Sheffield on fracking's impacts on health.

Joanne Hawkins speaking at Medact's Fracking Masterclass in Sheffield on Regulation.

Patrick Saunders speaking at Medact's Fracking Masterclass on the potential risks to human health.

The Humanitarian Imperative to Ban Nuclear Weapons Find out how the international Humanitarian Initiative on nuclear weapons is creating an urgent argument for change by focusing attention on the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental impact of these WMDs. Including the 2015 launch of nuclear weapons divestment report ‘Don’t Bank on the Bomb’ …

A critical look at the culture of nuclear weapons in the UK, and how mainstream narratives of nuclear deterrence can and must be challenged. SPEAKERS: Kate Hudson (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament), Paul Ingram (British American Security Information Service) and Richard Norton-Taylor (The Guardian). Chaired by Dr David McCoy (Medact).…

This second session will look at what practical action we can take to challenge gender norms that fuel violence and inequality. Activists from The Great Initiative will lead participants through workshop exercises they run in schools in the UK, using innovative techniques to promote critical reflection on gender and violence. Attendees will be enco…

Women are often portrayed as helpless victims in war, while men are often assumed to be combatants because of their gender. The reality of today’s conflicts is much more complex, with men being more likely to suffer violent deaths, and women playing all kinds of roles, from soldier to peacemaker. Nonetheless, the use of violence around the world is…

The effects of war on people and the planet can last for many decades, if not longer. From psychological trauma to unexploded ordinance, the damage done by armed conflict lives on well after the fighting has ended. In this session, learn about different aspects of the legacy of armed conflict from experts researching different post-conflict issues.…

Humanitarian law is clear in protecting nurses, doctors and others in their work to save human life and prevent suffering during war and armed conflict, yet these rules are routinely ignored and health professionals are increasingly at risk. Health communities around the world need to promote and uphold these laws, as well as the organisations and …

A prohibitionist approach to global drug policy, broadly known as the ‘War on Drugs’, has dominated since the mid-20th Century, seeking to prevent the production, trafficking and use of illicit drugs. These policies have failed to achieve their goals whilst fuelling violence and conflict, undermining stability and economic development, destroying l…

Join three expert speakers for a high octane trip through climate change, global security, refugees, and, those pesky fossil fuels. If you attend this session, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to share the name of one piece of music that you’d like to leave for future generations. None of us know how long we have to tread this blue …

In its 2014-15 ‘Human Rights and Democracy Report’, the UK government identified 28 countries of concern. In 2014, the UK approved arms export licences to 18 of those countries - including Israel, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Despite its well documented repression and human rights abuses, Saudi Arabia has been a priority market for UK arms sales f…

Join Paul, Martin and Ellie for an introduction to the global arms trade ahead of the key-note address from Andrew Feinstein. Paul will start the session with ‘Arms Trade Family Fortunes’, an interactive quiz on the basic facts around the international transfer of weapons. Martin will discuss the impact of irresponsible and illicit arms transfers o…

Join expert speakers to learn about the changing nature of weapons and warfare: from remote fighting and drones, to robotics and cyber warfare. Speakers will explore the evolution of US, UK and French war-fighting capacities and postures, especially in the context of the War onTerror in Africa and the Middle East, as well as the ethical, transparen…

War is always bad for health, but over the past century widely-held international norms have developed that chemical and biological weapons are not legitimate weapons of war. And yet the threat posed by these weapons has not gone away. Join these expert speakers to learn about key contemporary issues surrounding biological and chemical weapons: the…

Dr Miran Epstein on Medical Ethics

Main Speaker: Vijay MehtaVijay is a renowned author and global activist for peace, development and human rights, and is Co-Founder and Chair of Uniting for Peace. His new book on The Economics of Killing was published by Pluto Press in 2012 and describes how the Military Industrial Complex works, its links with global financial crisis and the role …