For more than 35 years Social Action for Health has supported tens of thousands of people by helping them to access the information, advice, and activities they need to improve their health and wellbeing.
Social Action for Health grew out of a coalition of local healthcare workers, GPs, academics and activists who came together to form the Tower Hamlets Health Campaign in 1986. The Campaign addressed cuts to the local health system, employment opportunities for local people, and barriers to accessing health services affecting local Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic communities.
One of the Health Campaign’s biggest achievements was the completion of the Tower Hamlets Health Inquiry. This highlighted the stark impact of poverty, unemployment, poor housing and environmental conditions of the Tower Hamlets population and the multiple barriers facing minoritised ethnic communities in accessing basic goods and services.
Building on the inquiry’s success, the organisation grew beyond the boundaries of Tower Hamlets across east London. In 1994, the organisation became a registered charity with the following charitable objectives:
To preserve and protect the good health of the public within London and elsewhere within England;
The relief of unemployment for the benefit of the public in such ways as are thought fit, including assistance to find employment; and
To develop the capacity and skills of members of socially and economically disadvantaged communities to enable them better to identify and meet their needs in order to participate more fully in society.
The new geographical reach and wider focus of the organisation brought with it a new name, and in 2000 we officially became Social Action for Health.