LECKHNA PARAS CHAJED Gillian Keegan Secretary of State for Education House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Dear Gillian Keegan, RE: A call to improve the quality of menstrual education in UK schools I am writing today to discuss the dire state of menstrual education in the UK and offer recommendations for how it can be…
Tag: medical anthropology
10-year drug strategy: More harm than hope?
ELI SHLEIFER Matthew Rycroft CBE, Permanent Secretary Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF April 2024 Dear Sir Matthew Rycroft KCMG CBE, I write to you as a medical anthropology and medical student living in London, concerned about the troubling stigmatisation of people who use drugs (PWUD). Although the mobilisation of the government to…
“I’m not tired and lazy, I have ME”. An open letter on addressing the needs of people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis.
STEFFI SHARMA Wes Streeting MP Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 39 Victoria Street London SW1H 0EU Dear Secretary of Health and Social Care, I write to you with an urgency to address the needs of those suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Despite being recognised as…
Why border enforcement and cutting funds are not the solutions to undocumented migration to Italy
LIVIA SAPERE To: Giorgia Meloni Palazzo Chigi Piazza Colonna, 370 00187 Roma (RM), Italy Dear Giorgia Meloni, I am writing to address the decision of your government to cut funding for assisting refugees and people looking for asylum in Italy and to allocate them for border enforcement and national security, transferring from 50 million to…
The post-code lottery of the right to life
TEONÉ BURRIDGE Sir Chris Bryant House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Dear Sir Chris Bryant, I am writing to you, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), to discuss rehabilitative psychological support. ABIs are a leading cause of death and disability. Every 90 seconds, someone from the UK is admitted…
A LETTER TO JAMES CLEVERLY
DORA FREITAS April 2024 James Cleverly House of CommonsLondonSW1A 0AA Dear Home Secretary, James Cleverly, On the 4th of December 2023, you announced during a parliamentary debate the introduction of a new immigration bill which impacts the right to family reunification. This legislation stipulates that from the 11th of April 2024, individuals earning less than £29,000, rising…
Why positive thinking won’t end loneliness
NOEMI CASSIN House of Lords London SW1A 0PW Dear Lady Barran, I am writing to you to discuss your latest Campaign to End Loneliness report, titled “The Psychology of Loneliness”. Although I was glad to discover the British government created a Ministry for Loneliness, I was saddened to see that you are tackling the subject…
Neglect of vaginal health in US health education
CAROLINE MOORE Dear Dr. Miguel Cardona, RE: Neglect of vaginal health in US health education I am writing as someone who was educated in the US through high school and was fortunate enough to be given a fairly comprehensive health education. However, for many Americans, this is not the case. My courses in Medical Anthropology…
Menus without calorie information should be available in all restaurants in the UK
NINA DYNE Neil O’Brien MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Primary Care and Public Health), House of Commons,LondonSW1A 0AA Menus without calorie information should be available in all restaurants in the UK Dear Mr O’Brien, I am writing to you to highlight the demonstrable public health need for menus without calorie information to…
An open letter on virtual wards
HELEN ROBERTSON Deliver To: Amanda Pritchard,NHS Chief Executive Officer10 South Colonnade Canary Wharf, London, E14 4PU Dear Amanda Pritchard, In 2022, your team announced the expansion of virtual wards across England to reduce demand for hospital beds. In response, Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) have been tasked with establishing 40 – 50 virtual ward ‘beds’ for…
Seeing Women Rough Sleepers
FILIS LIU To: C/O Xerox Unit 4, 191 Pasadena Close, Hayes, UB3 3NQ. Dear Mayor Sadiq Khan, I am writing to draw your attention to the alarming rise in homelessness, particularly among women. Impacted by the economic downturn, the issue of homelessness in London has reached a critical point, with 3570 recorded rough sleepers during…
Rethinking Indigenous Suicide in Canada and Giving Land Back
HUGH KNAPP Canadian Minister of Healthjean-yves.duclos@parl.gc.ca Re: Suicide in our indigenous communities Dear Mr. Jean-Yves Duclos, I write to you with an urgency to rethink about how and why we are losing a staggering number of young indigenous people to suicide throughout our country. How does the reality of ending one’s life comes to…
The missing yet critical discussion in the Hong Kong primary healthcare development: On achieving effective chronic disease management
EMILY LIU 26 Jun 2023 Dr PANG Fei-chau Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, Health Bureau Dear Dr Pang, I want to begin this letter by acknowledging the work you have been doing on geriatric and community medicine and congratulating you on your new position as primary healthcare commissioner to lead the…
Improving healthcare for people with learning disabilities
LILY ROSE Amanda PritchardCEO of NHS EnglandPO Box 16738RedditchB97 9PT Dear Amanda Pritchard,CEO of NHS England, striving for improving health nationally and ensuring high quality care for all. I study Anthropology at UCL with a particular interest in medical anthropology which has allowed me to explore different practices, approaches and injustices across health systems globally….
Response to the Illegal Migration Bill
WILL FAY 26th of June 2023 Suella Braverman House of CommonsLondonSW1A 0AA Dear Suella Braverman, I am writing as a medical and anthropology student to advocate for policy change impacting refugee and migrant health and suffering, in light of your Illegal Migration Bill (Braverman and The Lord Murray of Blidworth 2023). As I am sure…
BAME maternal health disparities
PIRADAB VIJAYARATNAM Rt Hon Steve Barclay MPSecretary of State for Health and Social Care 39 Victoria Street LondonSW1H 0EU 20th March 2023 Dear Mr Barclay, RE: BAME maternal health disparities. It is not due to race but racism. My mother, who is Sri Lankan, recounts her traumatic experience of pregnancy in the Netherlands as powerless and…
Applying anthropological techniques to achieve your strategic goals for North West Cancer Research.
CHRISTINA PHILPOTT Dear Alistair Richards, My name is Christina, I’m studying MSc Biosocial Medical Anthropology at University College London. My discipline examines the many different factors – cultural, socioeconomic, political and biological – that contribute to a person’s susceptibility to disease and understandings of health. I am a strong supporter of the amazing work North…
Improving access to hospice care in the UK
RAPHAEL ARDANI The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP 26th March 2023 House of Commons London SW1A 0AA RE: Funding for hospice services in the UK Dear Secretary of State, What does death mean to you? I appreciate that starting this letter with such a bold and direct question may be somewhat unorthodox, but I am…
An open letter to the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza.
TARA MAYHEW Dear Dame Rachel, The Children’s Commissioner’s Big Ask Survey (2021) gave voice to children and revealed the state of their nation. Children said they want good mental and physical health, and the survey demonstrates, they know exactly how to achieve it. They want to be outside, playing in open spaces. They want to…
The Woman’s Health Strategy for England neglects the realities of being a woman
NAOMI HANSEN House of Commons London SW1A 0AA stephen.barclay.mp@parliament.uk Dear Sir Barclay, I am writing to you today in regards to the Women’s Health Strategy (WHS) for England, which you presented to Parliament in July 2022. You rightfully point out that for far too long, women’s voices have not been listened to, that there are…