Medact

Medact North East Group Meeting
2022-06-22 20:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | Zoom
Medact North East is an active local group based around Newcastle, Sunderland, Tynemouth and across the North East.
The group meets at the same time every two weeks. Each meeting is facilitated by a different person and they welcome new members! The time is used to discuss current campaigns and anything else relevant. Some past campaigns and activities include:

Working with Newcastle City Council to endorse the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Writing to the Foreign Secretary requesting that British children in Syrian refugee camps be returned to Britain.
Giving talks on planetary health at the Royal Victoria infirmary.
Contacting Newcastle City Council to find out which energy supplier they use.

If you want more information or the Zoom link to join, please feel free to get in touch via northeast@medact.org.

Medact Sheffield Meeting
2022-06-21 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-06-07 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-05-24 19:00 - 20:00
Medact Sheffield are currently focusing their campaigns on Patients Not Passports and Health for a Green New Deal.

The group meets fortnightly on Tuesdays from 7pm – 8pm in a hybrid format — in person at the Medical School (room to be confirmed each time) and online on Zoom.

Sign up to the Medact Sheffield email list below to get involved — or email sheffield@medact.org.

Medact Bristol Meeting
2022-06-20 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-06-06 19:00 - 20:30
Medact Bristol is one of our more recently established local groups. They are interested and engaged in local, national and international issues that affect public health. Medact Bristol is focusing its efforts on campaigns on climate, environment and sustainability, divestment, and migrant access to health care.

The Bristol group meet every two weeks on Mondays. You can join their WhatsApp group and subscribe to the mailing list for more information.

Economic Justice & Health group meeting
2022-06-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Economic Justice & Health group meet regularly on Zoom to discuss current and future campaigns, plan events, work on strategy and share knowledge. The group is open to all and welcomes new members. Questions? Email our EJ&H campaigner Jordi.
[Registration has now closed]

We Demand Better: Cost of Living march & rally
2022-06-18 10:30 - 14:00
Portland Place, London | Assemble from 11am | March departs 12pm | Rally 1pm
On Saturday 18 June, the trade union movement is mobilising in London to tell this government that we demand better. Medact will be participating as a health bloc!
We are witnessing the impact of the cost of living crisis on the lives of our most vulnerable patients and communities. We are seeing the biggest squeeze on households in decades, with millions forced to choose between heating and eating. The Spring Budget didn’t do anywhere near enough to lift the hardest hit out of financial hardship and poverty.
Ministers partied while people died. Now they do nothing while living standards plummet and P&O lays off hundreds of workers on the spot—an example of the eroding employment rights in a country where there are more people living in poverty at work than out of work.
We demand better!

A real pay rise for every worker and a real living wage for all
Respect and security for all workers: ban zero hours contracts, ban fire & rehire, decent sick pay
An end to racism at work
Tax energy profits to pay our bills
A raise to universal credit
Boost union bargaining rights

For those outside of London, use this TUC resource to find a free or low-cost coach.
Register to receive updates and more details closer to the time.
[Registration has now closed]

Patients Not Passports Action Working Group
2022-06-13 19:00 - 20:00
The Patients Not Passports Network is growing! We’re launching new National Working Groups that will support local organising happening around the country and help plan the big events and actions we run through the year.
The action planning working group currently meets weekly to organise and strategise upcoming PnP actions, with the next action scheduled for June.
Interested? Sign up here.

For Health’s Sake, Stop Funding Fossil Fuels! Protest at the Treasury
2022-06-11 12:00 - 15:00
Location: Her Majesty’s Treasury, Westminster, London. Exact meeting place TBC.
On Saturday 11th June, we’re teaming up with our friends at Doctors for Extinction Rebellion to take the call of the health community for climate justice straight to the UK government on the steps of the Treasury in Westminster. Join us!
Register
Just months after hosting the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, the UK government greenlit the construction of the Abigail gas field off the Scottish coast. Now, the even larger Jackdaw field could be weeks away from getting the same approval.
Yet were construction of the Jackdaw field be approved, the gas extracted wouldn’t come online until 2025— the same year that the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently warned that greenhouse gas emissions must peak.
Instead of investing in the just transition needed to finally switch off gas in a way that’s fair on workers and dependent communities, the UK government is pushing to have gas reclassified as a ‘green investment’.
The IPCC’s recent report is unambiguous. We are facing our last chance to stave off a climate disaster—the health implications of which would be catastrophic for communities worldwide, especially those already impacted.
Stand with us outside the Treasury on June 11 to bring the call of the health community for climate justice straight to the UK government!
[Registration has now closed]

Medact North East Group Meeting
2022-06-08 20:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Medact North East is an active local group based around Newcastle, Sunderland, Tynemouth and across the North East.

The group meets at the same time every two weeks. Each meeting is facilitated by a different person and they welcome new members! The time is used to discuss current campaigns and anything else relevant. Some past campaigns and activities include:

Working with Newcastle City Council to endorse the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Writing to the Foreign Secretary requesting that British children in Syrian refugee camps be returned to Britain.

Giving talks on planetary health at the Royal Victoria infirmary.

Contacting Newcastle City Council to find out which energy supplier they use.

Fore more information or to join a meeting, get in touch via northeast@medact.org. Sign up to the North East group’s mailing list –

Migrant Solidarity Group Ukraine Solidarity Fundraiser
2022-06-08 19:00 - 22:00
ласкаво просимо! Welcome! Join the MSG for a spectacular night of music and dance to come together and raise funds for Ukrainian communities in the town of Mykolaiv.
Mykolaiv is currently under siege and needs your support! The MSG are raising funds to directly purchase medical equipment and kits and protective gear for medics in Mykolaiv as MSG members have personal connections with the city.
We are excited to say that the amazing Shazia Mirza, award-winning British-Asian comedian and writer, will be headlining. She’ll be joined by more incredible artists from the UK and Ukraine, including:

Halyna Balaban

Daniella Tushevska

The Other Brother Band

and straight from Brighton Fringe, comedian Stella Graham.

This night of fun, dance and summer celebration is taking place on a magical boat venue with amazing views of the Thames and central London, and will also include a variety of Ukrainian snacks and mini-shop with badges, shirts and solidarity gifts.
If you can’t come but want to support us, please buy merchandise or make a donation through the Eventbrite. If you want more details about the fundraiser, we will discuss it on the night or you can contact us at migrantsolidarity@medact.org.
Brought to you by Medact’s Migrant Solidarity Group, a volunteer-led group of healthcare workers working on refugee issues.

Economic Justice & Health group meeting
2022-06-06 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-05-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
If you’re interested in getting involved, register below. Questions? Get in touch with campaign and programme lead Jordi at jordilopezbotey@medact.org.
[Registration has now closed]

Patients Not Passports Action Working Group
2022-05-31 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-05-24 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-05-19 19:00 - 20:00, 2022-05-10 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom

Global Health Watch 6 Launch
2022-05-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Medact Office, The Brick Yard, 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT, United Kingdom
Global Health Watch 6 Launch Event – 30 May 2022Watch this video on YouTube

7PM – 8:30PM BST

Join us to celebrate the publication of the sixth edition of Global Health Watch, the definitive alternative voice on health compiled by activists and academics from around the world.

Order your discounted copy from Medact

We’ll 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:

Dr Chiara Bodini, co-editor of GHW

Members of the Medact Research Network: Roman Gnaegi, Catia Confortini and Michael Orgel

Dr Annabel Sowemimo, sexual and reproductive health doctor and founder of Decolonising Contraception

Dr Lauren Paremoer, senior lecturer in the Political Studies Department at the University of Cape Town and member of PHM South Africa

Rhiannon Osborne, medical student, organiser with Health for a Green New Deal and Stop Cambo, and member of People’s Health Movement UK.

Global Health Watch (GHW), now in its sixth edition, is the definitive alternative voice on health. Published since 2003, with contributions from activists and academics from around the world, GHW6 integrates rigorous analysis of the social, economic, political and environmental determinants of health with stories of struggle and hope for radical transformation.

The book has been co-produced by People’s Health Movement, Medact, Third World Network, Health Poverty Action, Medico International, ALAMES, Viva Salud and Sama.

We’re pleased to hold this event in collaboration with Health Poverty Action, People’s Health Movement UK and People’s Health Movement Scotland—please check out their work!

This event will be held on Zoom, but we are encouraging people to come together to watch and discuss the event in person, if you feel comfortable.

Medact is holding an in-person gathering to watch the event, so check the box when you register if you want to join us at our office in Hoxton.

[Registration has now closed]

EJ&H Housing and Health London Meeting
2022-05-28 10:00 - 12:00
As part of our Economic Justice Secure Housing campaign, we are holding our first London Housing & Health meeting on Saturday 28 May at 10am at Ark Globe Academy, London SE1 6AF.

Register below!

We will be meeting with HASL (Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth) and their members, talking about the housing and health problems encountered by residents, and elaborating a plan for healthcare workers to support their ongoing campaigns in South London.

You don’t have to be a regular members of the EJ&H group or a health worker to get involved, everyone is welcome! If you’re unable to attend any of the meetings but keen to get involved or develop a local campaign, please get in touch with Jordi.

About the Secure Housing campaign

The Economic Justice & Health group is organising to improve policies for better access to secure and sustainable housing. This includes working alongside local groups to support local campaigns (including housing-first approaches), as well as demanding policy change on a national level for better support for social housing, community-owned housing stock and protections for renters.

You can read more in our booklet The Public Health Case for Secure Housing.

The housing system in the UK is broken. Currently, 1.6 million households are on social housing waiting lists and millions more are struggling to meet unaffordable rents in the private sector. In England, the number of people experiencing core homelessness reached just under 220,000 at the end of 2019.
Quality of housing is another serious concern for public health.

One in five dwellings in England fail to meet decent standards for living, with disregard for basic health and safety measures all too common. Housing is not equitably distributed in the UK: poorer households, ethnic minority groups, the elderly and adults with disabilities are all more likely to live in low-quality, unsafe, insecure housing.

Despite all of this, social and private rents are growing faster than the cost of living. Social housing stock is dwindling, yet there are around five times more empty homes in the country than households in need of housing.

Secure housing means housing that is accessible to all, meets good living standards, and where tenants are not forced to live under precarious conditions.

As part of the health community, we see and care for the symptoms of an unjust economic system. We are united in struggle with friends and colleagues within and beyond the NHS in organising to end housing-related health inequalities. We all play a crucial part in advocating for the systemic change needed to win high quality, secure and affordable housing for all.

[Registration has now closed]

Economic Justice & Health Open Meeting
2022-05-26 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Want to get involved in Medact’s Economic Justice campaigns?
The best way to get up to speed with the campaign and meet other members of the EJ&H group is to come to our next open meeting.
To challenge economic and health inequalities, we need to build power and get as many people as we can involved. You don’t need to work in healthcare to participate! Register below.
In this meeting you’ll:

find out about the group,
what we understand by economic and health inequality,
ongoing projects and campaigns,
how we can fight for economic and health justice,
hear from some of the people working in our different campaign areas, and
explore the ways you can get involved.

There are monthly open joiners meetings and weekly group meetings, so check our calendar or sign up to the mailing list to receive updates.
We can also arrange a call if you’re unable to attend any of the meetings but keen to get involved or develop a local campaign. Just get in touch with Jordi!
Recommended actions:

Read our booklets on secure housing, liveable incomes and tax justice.
Read our ‘Health vs Wealth’ report
Learn more on this campaign area
Check out information on Medact membership

[Registration has now closed]

Challenging the Securitisation of Health: New Joiners Meeting
2022-05-26 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
Are you concerned about the encroachment of policing and counter-terror policies in healthcare?
Do you want to take a stand with others to protect health workers’ duty of care to their patients, and against the erosion of trust?
Join the Medact Securitisation of Health Group’s first ever New Joiners meeting on Thursday 26 May!
This meeting will provide a space for people interested in getting involved in the group’s activities to meet others, recap our recent actions to End Prevent in Healthcare and the Alternative Trainings on Prevent series, and explore the different ways you can get involved.
This meeting is the best way to get up to speed with the work of the Securitisation of Health Group and the work to end Prevent in healthcare!
“It is in collectivities that we find reservoirs of hope and optimism.” – Angela Davis
[Registration has now closed]

Medact North East Meeting
2022-05-25 20:00 - 21:00 | Zoom

Medact Research Network Quarterly Meeting
2022-05-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The Medact Rights Research Network Quarterly is a space for us to come together, share our work, discuss new projects, or delve into deep discussion about research that has caught your interest. We aim to collectively develop our thought and research practices.
Our network meets every 3 months, and is a great way to connect with others interested in research in this area. If you’re looking for a way to get involved in new projects or invite people to join your own – the quarterly meeting is a great place to start.
As always, we invite you to share your work with the group! This could be talking briefly about a research project you’ve recently completed or are currently working on, or a paper you’ve seen that you’d like to share and discuss with the group.
You’ll have 5 minutes to introduce the project, and then we’ll have space in the meeting for people to further discuss the projects that interest them. It’s a great opportunity to explain a new idea and connect with other researchers keen to collaborate on your project.
Interested? Get in touch with Sarah, including a few details of what you’d like to talk about!
[Registration has now closed]

Online Rally: End The Hostile Environment!
2022-05-25 18:00 - 20:00
The system is not broken: UK borders are hostile by design.
10 years since the introduction of the Hostile Environment, the Solidarity Knows No Borders Community of Resistance (comprising over 60 grassroots organisations including #PatientsNotPassports) are calling for a national Week of Action to #EndtheHostileEnvironment, from the 13 to 19 June.
If you are ready to stand up and fight back, join us for the launch rally on May 25, where we will hear from speakers on the frontlines of the fight for migrant and racial justice.
Speakers include:

Andrea Martinez – Kanlungan Filipino Consortium
Asad Rehman – War on Want
Ed Wong – IWGB
Erfan – Former Resident of Napier Barracks
Gracie Mae Bradley – organiser and co-author of “Against Borders”
Loraine Mponela – Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action Group (CARAG)
Mariam Yusuf – Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST) Manchester
Marissa Begonia – Voice of Domestic Workers
Mary Atkinson – JCWI
Maya Goodfellow – journalist and author of “Hostile Environment: How Immigrants Become the
Scapegoats”
Polish Migrants Organise for Change (POMOC)
Nanou – Abolish Reporting Campaign
Rossana Leal – The Refugee Buddy Project
Simba Mujakachi – Justice for Simba Campaign
Tipping Point UK
Veeca Smith – These Walls Must Fall
West London Resistance Collective
Zita Holbourne – BARAC UK
Zrinka Bralo – Migrants Organise

Read more & register via Action Network.

UK Gov: Join the Nuclear Ban Treaty World Meeting!
2022-05-24 13:00 - 14:00
On Tuesday 24 May at 1pm, we invite you to join us and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) outside the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to urge the UK government to attend the First Meeting of State Parties (1MSP) of the Nuclear Ban Treaty. The UK cannot remain silent on the nuclear ban and must join the treaty!
At the end of June, state representatives from across the world will be meeting in Vienna for the 1MSP of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
This is a momentous occasion, where member states of the TPNW will discuss the next steps to advancing the treaty and the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons.
The UK government, however, has continued to refuse to engage with the TPNW—and it has shown no intention of attending this incredibly important world meeting as an observer.
This will be a small and peaceful rally where we will aim to hand in a letter calling on the government to attend the 1MSP, and this letter signed by over 1 million people and endorsed by the Dalai Lama, calling for:

an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and the withdrawal of Russian troops;
a commitment from Russia and NATO to renounce the use of nuclear weapons in this conflict;
states to work toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.

If you have any questions about this rally and/or would like to attend, email office@medact.org.

Bristol Group Meeting
2022-05-23 19:00 - 20:30

Prevent duty in the NHS: May action-planning meeting
2022-05-19 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
Join the Securitisation of Health group’s meeting to develop our plans around how to counter the Prevent duty in healthcare, and its connections with broader securitisation and racism in the NHS.
You must register for this meeting below, and details of the Zoom meeting will be emailed to you on the day.
If you are unable to attend but are interested in being involved in future meetings or actions, you can sign up to our Securitisation of Health mailing list or email reemabuhayyeh@medact.org
Our main priority is that as much as possible, health workers, patients and others impacted by Prevent who may attend this event feel safe both professionally and personally participating in Medact’s activities. As such, we ask that if you work in Prevent, the police or the Home Office, that you do not register to attend this event.
For any queries or for further discussion on this, please email Reem!
[Registration has now closed]

Patients Not Passports National Network Meeting
2022-05-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Patients Not Passports National Network Meetings are for local and national campaigners.
Are you interested in PNP and keen to get involved at a local or national level? Register for our next New Joiners meeting.
If you’ve already attended a New Joiners meeting and would like to join one of our national working groups, you can do that here.
Any questions about PNP? Get in touch with our Campaigns Officer Sarah Lasoye.

Medact North East Group Meeting
2022-05-11 20:00 - 21:00
Medact North East is an active local group based around Newcastle, Sunderland, Tynemouth and across the North East.
The group meets at the same time every two weeks. The time is used to discuss current campaigns and anything else relevant. Some past campaigns and activities include:

Working with Newcastle City Council to endorse the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Writing to the Foreign Secretary requesting that British children in Syrian refugee camps be returned to Britain.
Giving talks on planetary health at the Royal Victoria infirmary.
Contacting Newcastle City Council to find out which energy supplier they use.

Each meeting is facilitated by a different person and they welcome new members! If you want more information or the Zoom link to join, please feel free to get in touch via northeast@medact.org.
