Medact

Emergency Protest - UK Doctors & Nurses in Solidarity With Syria
2016-12-17 14:00 UTC
Healthcare workers of the UK: grab your uniforms and activate the power of your voice. The bloodshed must stop now.
Join Medact for a solidarity action at Parliament Square next Saturday. We hope to add our voices to the demands of the Syrian and the international humanitarian and medical community for the following:1. End both indiscriminate and targeted attacks on civilians, hospitals and schools across Syria;2. Pressure the Syrian government to allow delivery of aid to besieged cities in Syria;3. Demand the UK government conduct airdrops of aid;4. Provide safe passage to all trapped including the remaining 100,000 people in Aleppo;5. Grant asylum to refugees.
The protest is being organised by Medact’s Arms & Militarisation group (MAM) in collaboration with Syria solidarity activist groups. All are welcome.
When
Saturday 17th December, at 2pm
Where
Parliament Square, London SW1P 3JX
Bring your scrubs/uniform and stethoscopes.
See the Facebook page for more details.

Panel Debate on Overconsumption vs. Overpopulation - KCL Sustainability Week
2017-02-08 18:30 - 20:00 | King’s College London – Strand Building, Strand, London, WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom
What is the true driver of environmental, social and economic disorder in the 21st century?
The world is confronted with a multitude of environmental, social and economic challenges.
How do we contain global warming? How do we feed, provide for and educate the 10, 11 or even 12 billion people expected this century? And what about biodiversity? Surely, the fishes, insects and animals need a home too? After all, they were here first.
It is unquestionable that a rapidly growing global population places additional pressures on our ecosystems, communities and politics. But is mitigating the above challenges merely a question of reducing or stabilising population growth? Or is challenging and changing our consumptive ways the answer, particularly as we are consuming more resources than in any other time in the history of civilization?
Is there room for 12 billion to thrive if we change our diet, switch to renewable energy across the globe or implement genuinely progressive reforms to wealth redistribution and land access?
Addressing these questions with evidence, compassion and an open-mind will be key to ensuring a stable planet with thriving citizens for centuries to come.
We encourage you join us as and a diverse panel of speakers as we get to grips with one of the defining issues of our time in one of our headline events for Sustainability Week 2017.
The event will be chaired by Olivia Preston, Operations Sustainability Manager at King’s and panellists include:

Asad Rehman – Senior Climate Campaigner, Friends of the Earth
Kate Raworth – Author of Doughnut Economics and Visiting Research Associate, Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute
Alistair Currie – Head of Campaigns, Population Matters
David Powell – Environment Lead, New Economics Foundation

Entry is on a first come, first serve basis.
For details of other events happening during Sustainability Week, please visit our blog:
http://blogs.kcl.ac.uk/sustainability/week/

Climate Refugees, The Climate Crisis and Population Displacement - Building a Trade Union and Civil Society Response
2017-02-11 10:00 - 17:00 | NUT Conference Centre, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, Euston, , London, WC1H 9BD, United Kingdom
This conference from the Campaign Against Climate Change Trade Union Group aims to dispel refugee myths, work on a new Protocol for the international protection of those affected by climate change, raise demands for stronger action, and agree a climate refugees campaign statement.
Expert Contributions from:
Prof Joanna Haigh (Grantham Institute at Imperial College), Asad Rehman (FoE), Clara Paillard (PCS), Amjad Abdulla (Alliance of Small Island States tbc), Dave Green (FBU), Sharan Burrow (ITUC, tbc), Wilf Sullivan (TUC), Zak Cochrane (Stand Up To Racism), NUT, PSI, Zita Holbourne (PCS), Jonathan Neale (Global Climate Jobs), Suzanne Jeffery (Campaign Against Climate Change), and more.
Four Workshops on:

Unions and campaigns for climate jobs.
Raising awareness of climate change impacts at national and global level.
Unions and campaign groups challenging xenophobia and hostility to refugees and migrants.
Joint work to draft a new Protocol for the international protection of those affected by climate change.

Doctors Against Diesel Workshop
2017-02-22 18:30 - 20:30 | Royal College of GPs, 30 Euston Square, London, NW1 2FB, United Kingdom
This is the first meeting of the recently formed campaign Doctors Against Diesel. We invite nurses, doctors and allied health professionals to join us to learn about health and diesel, discuss health messaging, and share ideas for how health professionals can support the wider campaign for a rapid phase out of diesel vehicles.
Prof. Jonathan Grigg, author of the Royal Colleges Report Every Breath We Take will summarise the evidence and campaign so far. Then we’d like your feedback on a range of ideas that we will present, as well as listen to any ideas that you can bring to the meeting. There will be no time commitment beyond the meeting, but of course any support you can give to the campaign will be valuable.

St. George's Global Health Conference 2017
2017-02-25 | St George’s – University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, United Kingdom
Challenging Borders
Addressing Barriers to Global Health
St George’s University of London Medsin Group is hosting their annual Global Health Conference 2017. ‘Challenging Borders: Addressing the barriers to Global Health’ will take place on Saturday 25th February.
The conference aims to shine a spotlight on the impact of division as an obstacle to global health. Borders can be physical, such as nation lines or geographical impediments, man-made, such as walls and prisons, but also more abstract, such as stigma towards mental health. All create a barrier to personal, community, and international well-being. Many examples exist today, and none more topical than the myriad issues surrounding migrant health. Success has been varied in addressing these barriers.
‘Challenging Borders’ focuses on the effects of these barriers on health and what can be done to overcome them. The day will consist of a morning of talks and in the afternoon attendees will have the opportunity to engage in stimulating interactive sessions to broaden their understanding and approach to these issues. We are announcing the line up of high-profile speakers and organisations throughout the coming weeks. Tickets are available from St George’s Student Union website and you can stay up to date through our Facebook Page.
Tickets: https://www.sgsu.org.uk/ents/event/794/
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/742508639247932/

Medsin Global Health Conference 2017 - Seeing the Spectrum
2017-02-25 - 2017-02-26 | University College London, Gower St, Kings Cross, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
One of the favourite events of the Medsin annual calendar, the 2017 Global Health Conference aims to bring students from all over the UK together to raise awareness about gender and its impact on health. There will be opportunities for attendees to learn through panels, debates, workshops, exhibitions and discussion. The conference will focus on four main themes across two days:

What is gender?
LGBTQ + health
Gender within conflict and development
Working towards a better and equal future

Attendees should go away inspired and passionate about gender and health, and equipped with the tools and knowledge to go forward and better the world we share.
For tickets, see: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/medsin-global-health-conference-2017-seeing-the-spectrum-tickets-31238350748?aff=es2
Note: the Saturday will take place at UCL; the Sunday at King’s College.

#ourNHS march
2017-03-04 12:00 - 17:00 | Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9EZ, United Kingdom
#OUR NHS PROMOWatch this video on YouTube
National demonstration for a fully funded and publically owned NHS and social care service.

Lancet Countdown: Panel discussion
2017-03-13 18:30 - 20:00 | 308 Huxley Building, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
On the 13th of March, the Lancet Countdown will be hosting a panel discussion in London, bringing together a range of global tracking initiatives to discuss how they can work together, track progress on the Paris agreement, and ultimately hold governments to account.
Speakers at this panel debate will include:

Professor Anthony Costello, Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health at the World Health Organization
Professor Peng Gong, Director of the Centre for Earth System Science at Tsinghua Centre
Dr Rishma Maini, Senior Disaster Risk Reduction Public Health Registrar in Global Public Health at Public Health England
Dr Joy Shumake-Guillemot, Head of Joint WHO-WMO Office on Climate and Health

The event will be held in association with Imperial College London and is free for all to attend via the eventbrite page

Fossil Free Health Edinburgh - divestment film and discussion
2017-05-09 19:30 - 21:00 | Edinburgh Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2JL, United Kingdom
It’s Global Divestment Mobilisation week, and Medact, together with Medsin and Healthy Planet, are running a series of events to discuss why now, more than ever, health institutions must divest fossil fuels. Climate change is potentially the biggest threat to global health this century, and health institutions must show leadership in saying we will not fund the industries that are driving the problem. Two years ago Medact and partners produced the groundbreaking report Unhealthy Investments, which has influenced health divestment decisions in countries around the world. At this event we’ll be presenting a new report that profiles some of those case studies, and outlines how to undertake the divestment process.
Speakers will discuss:

The health impacts of climate change,
What divestment means for action on climate change,
What the campaign has achieved so far,
and how you can get involved!

The event will be hosted by Eleanor Dow, medical student and former Director of Healthy Planet, Speakers include Ric Lander, Divest Lothian, with further speakers TBA.
Please RSVP below.

Fossil Free Health Bristol - divestment film and discussion
2017-05-10 19:00 - 20:30 | Wills Memorial Building, University of Bristol, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, United Kingdom
It’s Global Divestment Mobilisation week, and Medact, together with Medsin and Healthy Planet, are running a series of events to discuss why now, more than ever, health institutions must divest fossil fuels. Climate change is potentially the biggest threat to global health this century, and health institutions must show leadership in saying we will not fund the industries that are driving the problem. Two years ago Medact and partners produced the groundbreaking report Unhealthy Investments, which has influenced health divestment decisions in countries around the world. At this event we’ll be presenting a new report that profiles some of those case studies, and outlines how to undertake the divestment process.
Speakers will discuss:

The health impacts of climate change,
What divestment means for action on climate change,
What the campaign has achieved so far,
and how you can get involved!

The event will be hosted by Mia Thomas, director of Healthy Planet. Speakers include Green Party Councillor Carla Denyer, and Stephen Le Fanu, Fossil Free Bristol.
Please RSVP below.

Fossil Free Health Liverpool - divestment film and discussion
2017-05-14 18:00 - 19:30 | HUS bar, HUS Tempest Building, 12 Tithebarn Street, Liverpool, L2 2DT, United Kingdom
This is the last in a series of health focused events during Global Divestment Mobilisation week. Please join us at the HUS bar, Liverpool where organisers of fossil free health, the health divestment campaign, will discuss why now, more than ever, health institutions must divest fossil fuels. Climate change is potentially the biggest threat to global health this century, and health institutions must show leadership in saying we will not fund the industries that are driving the problem. Two years ago we produced the groundbreaking report Unhealthy Investments, which has influenced health divestment decisions in countries around the world. At this event we’ll be presenting a new report that profiles some of those case studies, and outlines how to undertake the divestment process.
Speakers will discuss:

The health impacts of climate change,
What divestment means for action on climate change,
What the campaign has achieved so far,
and how you can get involved!

Speakers include Eliot Waterhouse, fossil free health campaigner at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Dr Geraint Davies, University of Liverpool, and Alice Munro, Fossil Free Health coordinator, Medact.
Spaces are limited so please RSVP below.

Join our Refugee Solidarity Group - we're meeting 7pm on 7th June
2017-06-07 19:00 - 20:00 | Medact Office, The Brick Yard, 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT, United Kingdom
We’re welcoming new members to our Refugee Solidarity Group. Join our next meeting on Wednesday 7th June at 7pm at the Medact office – The Grayston Centre, 28 Charles Square London N1 6HT. Please contact Feryal Awan, if you would like to attend.
The agenda for the evening includes:

Upcoming volunteer trip to Calais
Doctors of the World ‘Stop Sharing’ campaign (Medact is supporting Doctor of the World’s campaign to stop the Home Office from accessing migrant patients’ personal information)
Organising the next ‘Right to Healthcare’ training (designed to train health professionals to help migrants access healthcare)
Sharing plans and actions for the upcoming months

The Refugee Solidarity Group develops projects to defend access to health care rights for refugees and migrants, and inform civil society about existing rights and barriers to accessing healthcare. It is a friendly group of healthcare professionals and students, welcoming new members to participate as much as time allows. Activities fall under three main domains: Advocacy, Education and Action.
The Refugee Solidarity Group is part of a wider movement the Health Through Peace Movement. Please contact us if you could like to be involved in Medact’s work in this area.

Launch of Medact Yorkshire - Fracking & the Role of the Local Health Community
2017-06-14 19:00 - 21:00 | York University – HYMS Building – 1st Floor Meeting Room (107), Heslington, York , YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
This is the launch event for a new Yorkshire-based local group for Medact!

The event will include an introduction to Medact for newcomers, a discussion on the role of the health community in responding to fracking at a local level (* speakers TBA *), and an opportunity to meet each other and discuss ideas for taking the group forward.

All are welcome – if you have an interest in health, fracking and/or progressive social change, please do join us.

For more info on the event please do contact Margaret Jackson or Angela Harley.

Programme
7.00 – Welcome and introduction to Medact
7.30 – Fracking – the Role of the Local Health Community
8.30 – Group discussion – plans for taking the group forward
Speakers

Tim Thornton – Yorkshire GP
Leigh Coghill – Frack Free

AGM 2017
2017-07-15 10:30 - 14:30 | St. Luke’s Community Centre – The Garden Room, 90 Central St, London, EC1V 8AJ, United Kingdom
This year’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 15th July, from 10.30am – 2.30pm, at St. Luke’s Community Centre, 90 Central St, London EC1V 8AJ.
The AGM is the business meeting of Medact and serves three main functions:

A chance for members to receive an update and ask questions about the last year of Medact’s work and our future plans;
Election of new members to the Board of Trustees;
Voting on motions.

Following the main business, we will break for lunch, and then return for presentations on specific areas of programme work. The AGM is a good chance to meet Board members and office staff.
All are welcome, but only Medact members are eligible to vote.
Lunch will not be provided but there is a cafe on-site and other outlets nearby.
Meeting agenda

Welcome and update from Chair and Director
Election of new trustees and scrutiny of annual accounts
An update on the UN Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty – with Medact Trustee Frank Boulton and Acronym Institute Director Rebecca Johnson (who will have just returned from negotiations in New York)
A chance to hear about our thriving Doctors Against Diesel campaign

Motions
If you wish to submit a motion, please contact the office by telephone 0207 324 4739 or email office@medact.org.
New Trustees
The Board are currently conducting interviews with a number of candidates for new trustees. Details of those proposed will be posted here when known.

Humanity in Healthcare Training of Trainers
2017-08-14 19:00 - 22:00 | Medact Office, The Brick Yard, 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT, United Kingdom
Are you interested in learning more about entitlement to NHS care, barriers to accessing healthcare and policy implications of restricting access to healthcare?

Are you interested in learning how to deliver training on access to healthcare and then sharing knowledge gained?

Join us on Monday 14 August at 7pm for a special Train the Trainers (ToT) session delivered by Anna Miller from Doctors of the World.
Training of Trainers
The Medact Refugee Solidarity Group has been supporting the Doctors of the World ‘Right to Healthcare’ teaching programme. We are hoping to form a collective of healthcare students, professionals and human rights activists who undergo training and then deliver access to healthcare training in health universities and workplaces across the UK.

The ToT session, starting at 7pm, lasts three hours with a time for tea/coffee and a chance to discuss getting involved with the Refugee Solidarity Group.
The training is open for all Medact members. If you would like to join please click here: https://medact.org/membership.
The ToT, tailored for Medact members, prepares future trainers to deliver the ‘Right to Healthcare’ training. This one-hour training module aimed at healthcare professionals working in the NHS, is also relevant for those with an interest in health policy and human rights. The training covers entitlement to NHS care, barriers to accessing healthcare, the policy implications of restricting access to healthcare, and healthcare professionals as advocates for access to healthcare. More information can be found on the Doctors of the World website here.
Registration is on a first come, first served basis and SPACE IS LIMITED! If you are interested in attending please contact me to confirm attendance. Please also do let us know if you are unable to attend but interested in future training sessions.

Refugee Solidarity Group - August meeting
2017-08-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Medact Office, The Brick Yard, 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT, United Kingdom
We’re welcoming new members to our Refugee Solidarity Group. Join our next meeting on Thursday 30 August at 7pm at the Medact office – The Grayston Centre, 28 Charles Square London N1 6HT. Please contact Feryal Awan, if you would like to attend.
The agenda for the evening includes:

Upcoming volunteer trip to Calais and Dunkirk
‘Right to Healthcare’ educational programme
Sharing plans and actions for the upcoming months

The Refugee Solidarity Group develops projects to defend access to health care rights for refugees and migrants, and inform civil society about existing rights and barriers to accessing healthcare. It is a friendly group of healthcare professionals and students, welcoming new members to participate as much as time allows. Activities fall under three main domains: Advocacy, Education and Action.
The Refugee Solidarity Group is part of a wider movement the Health Through Peace Movement. Please contact us, if you could like to be involved in Medact’s work in this area.

Health Through Peace 2017
2017-09-04 - 2017-09-06 | University Road, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD
In September 2017, Medact and the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) are bringing together a gathering of people from the health and peace communities to discuss the state of global war and conflict, and promote more effective peace building and demilitarisation as a pre-requisite for social justice, good health and ecological sustainability worldwide.
For more details, see: https://www.medact.org/forum-2017

The challenges of child refugee health: everyone’s responsibility
2017-10-17 | Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, LONDON, W1G 0AE
We invite you to join Dr. David McCoy and colleagues for this special multidisciplinary and inter-sectoral event on child refugee health. The event, organised by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, is aimed not only at informing health practitioners about the migration crisis but also aimed at equipping them to be able to respond through their work in the clinic service improvement and advocacy.
Speakers include experts in the field, prominent clinicians, as well as BBC journalist Emma Jane Kirby and Lord Alfred Dubs.
Workshops: When you register you are able to select an option of your preferred two workshops. The workshops are as follows:
A. Identification of and dealing with female genital mutilation in children.
B. Effects of migration on child health and development.
C. The mental health impacts of the journey of the child migrant.
D. A primer on infectious diseases in child migrants.
Click here for agenda and to register.

Nuclear Weapons Group meeting
2017-10-18 14:00 - 16:00 | Medact Office, The Brick Yard, 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT, United Kingdom
On Wednesday 18 October at 2pm, the Nuclear Weapons Group will be holding a meeting at the Grayston Centre in London.
The group will be discussing:

the recent ICAN Nobel Peace prize win and how to build on this to increase awareness of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the work of IPPNW;
outreach with groups including students, trade unions, faith groups and local government;
how best to support ICAN UK’s parliamentary work;
how to continue to disseminate Medact’s “Safer World” report.

All are welcome! If you’d like to join them, please get in touch with Feryal Awan.

Recognising signs of exploitation, trafficking and modern slavery
2017-11-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Medact Office, The Brick Yard, 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT, United Kingdom
The British Government estimates that tens of thousands of people have been trafficked into modern slavery in the UK today. Every year more and more people are subjected to unimaginable forms of abuse and exploitation.
We are holding a 2-hour training to help healthcare professionals identify and support potentially trafficked persons. At the end of the session participants will be able to define the concept of human trafficking, child trafficking, exploitation and modern slavery and describe what is known about the situation in the UK. They will be able to explain modern slavery within the context of safeguarding, better identify, assess potentially trafficked persons, understand the obstacles to identification, define how to respond to suspicions of modern slavery within the health context and recognise the impact of trafficking on victims.

The training will be led by Laura Durán, Head of Training at ECPAT UK. Laura has over 10 years’ experience as an educator in public programmes for various institutions and has considerable experience delivering human trafficking training to frontline professionals, with a particular focus on how to identify and safeguard child victims of trafficking.
The training is open for all Medact members. If you would like to join please click here: https://medact.org/membership.
If you are interested in attending please contact us to confirm attendance. Please also do let us know if you are unable to attend but interested in future training sessions.

Medact Yorkshire meeting
2017-11-18 10:00 - 15:30 | York University – Derwent College; Room D/L/002, University Road, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
On Saturday 18th November we are holding an educational event at York University (please see exact event location below). There will be talks focusing on hitting targets for climate change and the health effects of fracking along with plenty of time for a lively discussion. This event is free to attend.

10.00 Introduction to the day
10.30 Climate change and Health: film and discussion
11:30 Coffee
11:45 Fracking and Health: presentation by Barbara Kneale,
Occupational Health Physician and founder member of Health Professionals against Fracking. Followed by discussion
12:45 Lunch- please bring your own lunch or there are limited catering outlets around the university
13:45 Next steps for Medact Yorkshire- a chance to share your experience and develop plans for future activities
15:15: Close

*Event location: Please click here to find map to Derwent College; Room D/L/002. If travelling by public transport there are frequent buses from York railway station to the university (Your Bus 66). If driving, park in one of the central (Campus West) car parks. Enter through black doors at the rear of the building (behind the Courtyard bar).

Looking Back to Look Forward: The Past and Future of Catastrophes & Conflict Medicine
2017-11-24 08:30 - 17:30 | Apothecaries Hall, Blackfriars, London, EC4V 6EJ
Join The Catastrophes and Conflict Forum and The Faculty of Conflict and Catastrophes Medicine for an all day event commemorating the 400th anniversary of the royal charter of the Society of Apothecaries.
The event explores the emerging challenges facing humanitarians, evaluations of the future trends in catastrophes and conflict and innovations coming into this space.
Featuring speakers from the NGO sector, British academia as well as data analysts and representatives from the world of humanitarian technology, this event brings together a varied group of actors to discuss the ways in which the realities of this field is likely to develop.
Click the poster for more information on topics and speakers for the day.
TO CONFIRM YOUR PLACE PLEASE BOOK VIA EVENTBRITE

Medact Tyneside Film Evening - Dr Strangelove
2017-11-24 19:00 - 21:00 | Jesmond Community Library, St George’s Terrace, Jesmond, NE2 2DL, United Kingdom
Join Medact Tyneside for a special film screening of Dr Strangelove

Synopsis: Dr. Strangelove is a 1964 political satire black comedy film directed by Stanley Kubrick. An insane General triggers a path to a nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.
Film will be screened at 7pm at the Jesmond Community Library followed by a talk (via skype) by Elizabeth Minor, one of the coordinators of of ICAN UK (Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize 2017)

Admission: £5

Donations welcomed for the Jesmond Community Library and Medact Tyneside.

Musicians for Peace & Disarmament - Winter Concert for Peace
2017-11-24 19:30 - 21:30 | St. James’s Church, , 197 Piccadilly, London, W1 9LL
Dedicated to the memory of Nona Liddell MBE
Conductor: Jane Glover CBE
All proceeds from Musicians for Peace & Disarmament concerts go to organisations in the peace movement.
Tickets: £20 / Concessions: £15
Click here to book online (with no booking fee) or pay cash on the door.
Download the full programme [pdf]

Right to Care Training - Southampton General Hospital
2017-11-28 18:00 - 20:00
Refugee Solidarity Group members Dr Rachael Marsh and Ilaf Moslawy are delivering a teaching session covering barriers to accessing healthcare in the UK and entitlement to NHS primary and secondary healthcare.
The training created by Doctors of the World UK is open to anyone who is interested but is particularly targeted at healthcare professionals.
There is a focus on refugees and asylum seekers but the principles apply to all vulnerable groups. This is particularly important now following charges that were introduced on the 23rd October.
The training is free of charge. Please click here to register.

*Dr Rachael Marsh is a Public Health registrar in Wessex with an interest in Global Health and health inequities.

*Ilaf Moslawy is a medical student at the University of Southampton.

Recognising and acting on medical sequellae of human rights abuses - Training in Oxford
2017-12-02 09:30 - 13:00 | Asylum Welcome Oxford, Unit 7 Newtec Place, Magdalen Rd, Oxford, OX4 1RE
A recent survey of 199 clinicians in the Northwest Region revealed that 55% had encountered a torture survivor in their NHS practice; most lacked confidence in how to help these patients.
Medact, Asylum Welcome Oxford and Forrest Medico-Legal Services have partnered to organise a special teaching session to train interested doctors, nurses and counsellors in methods of documenting, in a a very limited way, clinical evidence of human rights abuses previously suffered by the detainees they are visiting.
This documentation would not take the form of full Medico-Legal Reports (MLR) which are compliant with the Istanbul Protocol. But even a short letter can sometimes assist detainees in achieving release and beginning to establish their case for international protection. Moreover, such documentation is very useful to lawyers in seeking an MLR if indicated.
If time allows, the training will also cover entitlement and barriers to NHS care.
The training is free of charge for members of Medact or Asylum Welcome.
For more details, please contact Frank Arnold at Medact or Almas Farzi at Asylum Welcome.

Vigil for Yemen in Liverpool - 2 December
2017-12-02 13:00 - 14:00
Liverpool stands shoulder to shoulder with Yemen
A vigil, organised by Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, is taking place in Liverpool on Saturday 2 December calling for an end to the war in Yemen. The vigil will take place in front of Lime Street station from 1-2pm.

Mayor Anderson said: “Many people are aware of the desperate situation that Yemen faces at the moment. Aside from a number of deaths, 7.5 million people on the brink of famine – that’s equivalent to the population of 16 cities the size of Liverpool. Nobody should ever have to face such devastation, anywhere in the world. It is truly heartbreaking, and it is right and proper than in a small way we stand shoulder to shoulder with its people to know they are not forgotten here. I would like people to join us and show clearly that Liverpool stands with the victims of war.”

West Derby MP Stephen Twigg – Chair of the International Development Committee will also be in attendance. He explains:

“This Saturday I will be standing with Liverpool Friends of Yemen to call for peace. The conflict, reaching 1,000 days of war, has entered its darkest period to date with 12,000 deaths and 50,000 more injured. Save The Children estimate that by the end of the year 50,000 children will die. This has to stop now. In Liverpool, Yemen has friends who are standing up and calling for peace. I would urge anyone who supports peace in Yemen to join us at 1pm outside Lime Street Station this Saturday. The calls for peace must be louder than ever before.”

Click here for more information.

ICAN UK Nobel Peace Prize Die-In
2017-12-09 11:00 - 12:00 | Ministry of Defence, Whitehall, Westminster, London, SW1A 2HB, United Kingdom
ICAN UK is celebrating its Nobel Peace Prize win. What better way to do this than to have a demonstration highlighting the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, drawing awareness to the UN’s shiny new treaty making nukes illegal and having a bit of a get together outside the MoD?

This action is being hosted by two of ICAN UK’s partner organisations, us and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. All ICAN UKers and anti-nuclear weapons enthusiasts welcome!
There are no safe hands for unsafe weapons. Let’s show the British government that we know this and they should too.
Come along and bring your anti nuke, anti Trident placards, stand behind the ICAN UK banner, dress up as medics/ emergency responders to make the point that if a nuclear bomb dropped, the emergency services would be crippled.
Click here to view the Facebook event

Refugee Solidarity Group – December meeting
2017-12-11 19:30 - 20:30 | Medact Office, The Brick Yard, 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT, United Kingdom
Join our next meeting on Monday 11 December at 7.30pm at the Medact office. Please contact Jessica Potter, if you would like to attend.

The Refugee Solidarity Group develops projects to defend access to health care rights for refugees and migrants, and inform civil society about existing rights and barriers to accessing healthcare. It is a friendly group of healthcare professionals and students, welcoming new members to participate as much as time allows. Activities fall under three main domains: Advocacy, Education and Action.
The Refugee Solidarity Group is part of a wider movement the Health Through Peace Movement. Please contact us, if you could like to be involved in Medact’s work in this area.

The Alternatives - Global Perspectives For Healthier Lives
2018-04-16 18:00 - 19:30 | Broadway House, Tothill St, Westminster,, London, SW1H 9NQ
In the UK and across the world, neoliberal polices have had disastrous impact on health. In many places, the influence of neoliberalism on policy has gone unquestioned.
But there are a number of inspiring examples of countries and approaches that are improving health by rejecting neoliberal ideas.
The current UK debate about neoliberalism and its alternatives needs to be informed by the experiences of others. In particular we need to learn from those that are doing things differently!
Join us on Monday 16th April for a panel debate including:

Steinar Westin, Professor of Public Health at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Erika Arteaga Cruz, Health Activist with the People’s Health Movement Ecuador and the Latin American Association of Social Medicine
Jonathan Ashworth MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health

The event will launch The Alternatives, a new report from Health Poverty Action which explores the themes of the debate.
It will also be the UK launch for Global Health Watch 5. Copies will be available to purchase for a special discounted price.
