Black Health Matters - It is Institutional
Artwork by Richard Kahwagi. Photos by Teemu Paananen and Lucas Gouvêa on Unsplash
The Coronavirus pandemic swept the globe in 2020, indiscriminately infecting millions of people. The months that followed the initial outbreak in the UK, a pattern began to emerge in which Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities across the nation were being disproportionately impacted by the virus.
During the first wave of the pandemic there was an over representation of ethnic minorities in cases of COVID-19, 34% of all critically ill cases were among ethnic minorities despite us only being 14% of the population in England and Wales. Data from Public Health England showed that Black, Asian and other ethnic minority groups were more than twice as likely to contract COVID-19 and over 4 times more likely to die from it, in comparison to white counterparts.
“The historical racial and social inequalities have continued to compound and permeate throughout all aspects of British society, leading to present day racial disparities.”
The disparities seen regarding COVID outcomes can be seen in several health issues, revealing a pattern of inequality, which can be traced back to the UK’s long-standing history of white supremacy and social inequality. From the British empire’s role as key perpetrator of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, to the violent acts of racism that Black Caribbean migrants of the Windrush generation faced when they arrived in the UK, to the present day Windrush scandal which has seen these same people and their children being unlawfully detained and deported. The historical racial and social inequalities have continued to compound and permeate throughout all aspects of British society, leading to present day racial disparities. These are seen in healthcare – Black women are 4 times more likely to die during childbirth than white women; in mental health services – Black people are more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act ; in education – Black Caribbean students are several times more likely to face exclusions than white students; and similar trends are seen in policing and in the criminal justice system.
“The Black Health Matters project focuses on being led by health champions and advocates within the Black community.”
To work towards addressing these inequalities, The Love Tank CIC (TLT) conceptualised the Black Health Matters (BHM) project. The spotlight that the COVID pandemic shone on these inequalities of race and ethnicity gave us at TLT an urgency to get this project started. Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund the first year of the project will identify lived experience leaders across key health issues that disproportionately affect Black communities. Our approach to focus on lived experience leaders has always been central to the values of our team. Just as our work on PrEP put the voices and experiences of PrEP users front and centre on PrEP education, the BHM project focuses on being led by health champions and advocates within the Black community.
Together this network of lived experience leaders that we will build will help us to identify the underlying threads which create and exacerbate these health inequalities. By developing an action plan we will contribute to the tackling of these issues by producing content including blogs, articles, infographics, live streams, and podcasts. The action plan will also include accessible resources for policy makers and health planners that they can use to better support Black communities and empower future health advocates and lived experience leaders. Now more than ever it is paramount that a project of this nature is formed, especially as the nation’s leaders continue to deny the existence and impact of institutional racism as seen in the recent Race and Ethnic Disparities Report, 2021.
We do not expect one project to uproot the UK’s foundations of racial inequality that has shaped its identity: but promise that that project will bring together leaders that will create discussions, health content, evidence and practice that clearly affirms that: our Black Health Matters.
If you would like to know more about the project, or get involved please contact our project coordinator at bhm@thelovetank.info
