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Black and Minority Health Initiative (BEMHI)

Dates: 1999 - ongoing

Health First contacts: Joy Allen

What we want to achieve:

To develop Health promotion programmes specifically targeting African and Caribbean Communities
To conduct research
To promote community participation and Health and local Authority sector participation in addressing health inequalities in African and Caribbean Communities

What we will do:

Lewisham Health Needs Assessment
Black Health Week

Where we're doing it:

Lewisham

Who we're working with:

VAL, Lewisham local authority and Lewisham Primary Care Trust, voluntary sector and community agencies.

More detail

In 1999, Lewisham Community Development Partnership and Health First organised a conference to explore issues surrounding coronary heart disease and African and Caribbean Communities. The conference was well attended and provided health professionals, lay people and community workers with a forum to examine the epidemiological trends of hypertension, coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and the disproportionate affects of these diseases on African and Caribbean Communities. The main recommendation echoed throughout the day was the need to establish a forum that would seek to promote collaborative work with community workers and health professionals. As a result the Black and Minority Health Initiative (BEMHI )was established and continues to address the health needs of the African and Caribbean Communities based in Lewisham. In 2001 BEMHI initiated and coordinated the first. 'Black Health Week'. A second 'Black Health Week' campaign was delivered in 2002. The event was extremely successful with road shows, workshops, seminars and screening (diabetes and hypertension) taking place throughout the borough. BEMHI is in the process of planning the third Black Health Week in 2004. Lewisham Primary Care Trust has recently funded BEMHI to conduct a needs assessment in Lewisham. The team is currently facilitating a number of focus groups with African and Caribbean communities in Lewisham.