URSULA WHITE February 2021 Dear Secretary of State, I am writing to express my concern on discovering that, as of February 2021, Operose Health has acquired AT Medics, a company that currently has contracts to operate 49 GP London surgeries (Lacobucci 2021). Operose Health was created in January 2020 as a subsidiary of Centene, a…
Tag: critical medical anthropology
Letter to Jens Spahn
JASMIN SIMAO AJAYI Dear Mr. Spahn, I am a German citizen from Munich, currently in my final year of studying Anthropology at the University College London (UCL). I am writing to you today to address an issue that has come to my attention recently: the disproportionate effect of Covid-19 on economically disadvantaged and minority ethnic people in…
It’s Not A Sin: improving HIV/AIDS education in the UK
PIA KEELEY-JOHNSON Dear Gavin Williamson, I am a queer woman living in London who, like more than 18.9 million people1 who sat down to watch Russell Davies’ hit show It’s A Sin over the last two months, just received the best HIV/AIDS education of my 23 years of life from a TV drama. I was not totally ignorant to…
Eating Disorders, Education, and TikTok
EMILIE THOMPSON 28th February 2021 Dear Mrs Murdoch, Please let me express my enormous gratitude for the work you and your team continue to conduct in the face of the current pandemic. The NHS are demonstrating unwavering resilience and dedication that is nothing short of inspiring. As a postgraduate student from UCL, I write in response…
An Epidemic of Loneliness
PEPE WEISCHER Dear Mr Spahn, The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has strained the capacity of the German health system in unprecedented ways, but it seems to me that one crucial aspect of lockdown measures has been profoundly undermined: the loss of social cohesion and mental health support for children and adolescents. By no means do I…
A Letter for Malcolm Reed
TANYA SHARMA Dear Professor Malcolm Reed, (Lead Co-Chair of the Medical Schools Council), I am a medical student in the UK writing to you to discuss the teaching we have had on Social Determinants of Health as part of our medical education and how it may be beneficial for this to be further developed and…
A Letter to Tedros A. Ghebreyesus
AY NASSIMOLDINA Dear Dr Tedros A. Ghebreyesus, The world is in a vulnerable state right now, and we have trusted you with the World Health Organization to lead us through a global health crisis. However, it is so vital not to relax or neglect health issues that might be veiled with seemingly optimal solutions. I appreciate and…
A Letter to Andrew Selous
SHOLA AJAO Dear Mr Andrew Selous, It is unfortunate that I find myself writing to you again during these unprecedented times. As you may recall, I wrote July of last year concerning the case of Belly Mujinga, a black woman, a victim of a racially motivated attack, who later died after being spat on whilst working…
Fighting Inequality by Improving NHS Dental and Oral Care
MAXINE PEPPER 22nd March 2021 Dear Sir Stevens, RE: Fighting inequality by improving NHS dental and oral care The COVID-19 pandemic brought the discourse on health back to the heart of society. I personally cannot remember ever talking about health and illness prevention more than during the previous 12 months. Given your long list of recent media appearances, I believe you must feel the same. However, my anthropology…
Advocacy Letters: Anthropological Calls for Public and Global Health Change
Series Introduction CARRIE RYAN For the next few weeks, the UCL Medical Anthropology blog will run a special series called ‘Advocacy Letters: Anthropological Calls for Public and Global Health Change.’ This series will showcase nine Advocacy Letters written by UCL anthropology undergraduates and postgraduates. In these letters, students use anthropological insights to advocate for change on a variety of health-related topics, including, for example, dental care, loneliness, and vaccine hesitancy. These Advocacy Letters…
Book Launch: “Critical Medical Anthropology: Perspectives in and from Latin America”
You can Download this book for free here. We are pleased to announce the publication of the edited volume “Critical Medical Anthropology: Perspectives in and from Latin America”, edited by academics from UCL Anthropology, UCL Global Health, and CIESAS Mexico. Critical Medical Anthropology presents inspiring work from scholars doing and engaging with ethnographic research in…
Critical Medical Anthropology: perspectives from/of Latin America
Between the 31st October and the 2nd of November UCL will host a series of seminars to explore contemporary scholarship on critical medical anthropology, with academics from and focused on Latin America. Rita Laura Segato: “ History and patriarchal violence” Tuesday 31st October, 12.30pm, PUW Sem. room 2. Jaime Breilh: “The relevance of critical Latin American science…
Revisiting Critical Medical Anthropology in Oaxaca, Mexico
In January a five day event co-organised by a team from UCL Medical Anthropology and CIESAS in Mexico in the beautiful surrounding of Oaxaca City was a chance to learn a lot more about not only how different traditions of CMA have evolved in Latin America but how those carrying out research in the UK, India, West Africa and beyond are engaging, challenging and re-invigorating the space and shape of CMA .