Dear Reader,

First of all, a very warm welcome to our website from all here at NFHW.
Having survived two post COVID19 years, it’s a great pleasure to write to you
again!
Maybe you have visited these pages today to find a specific piece of
information or maybe watch one of our YouTube presentations. Perhaps you
are just browsing through to see if anything captures your interest. Whatever
the reason, we are glad to have you with us. Please take time to discover the
increasingly wide range of original material supporting good practice in
community health promotion available on this site, which we continue to add
to on a regular basis.
Please also take a moment to note our next major event. The Preston Health
Mela will be held on Saturday, April 13 th in the Foster Building at the University
of Central Lancashire (UCLan). This year, we will also hold Health Melas at
UCLan’s Burnley campus on 11 th May 2024 and at Chorley in autumn.
In addition we have held several free public engagement seminars at the
School of Medicine and Dentistry, UCLan, as part of our commitment to
‘empowering communities to take charge of their own health’. So far, these
seminars have covered topics such as Post COVID19 Mental Health,
Women’s Health, Chronic Pain, Men’s Health and so on. These interactive
presentations by experts in the field have become very popular in the last two
years. Please check for our future public engagement seminars.
We also celebrated 20 Years of our success by bringing out a brochure
covering out achievements. You may read it at:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4djmluvofgg6mxq/NFHW-20-anniversary-
spreads.pdf?dl=0
In November 2023, our members Dr Abhay Vaidya, Professor Romesh Gupta
and Mr Ravin Shah presented a paper entitled  ‘Empowering Communities
– Health Mela Experience’ at the 14 th  BIDA International Scientific Congress
held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The presentation generated wide ranging
discussion and interest in the concept of Health Mela.

This year our Health Mela case study has been accepted as an example of
good practice to be included in the updated ‘Maximising Population Health
and Curriculum’ toolkit published by NHS South, Central and West
Commissioning Support Unit.
Where now for the NFHW? Our organisation is built upon the guiding principle
that one of the best ways to achieve the overall health improvement of the
Nation involves empowering communities and individuals to take control of
their own lifestyles. They need to identify as active partners with health
professionals in promoting and maintaining their best possible health
outcomes at all ages. This partnership is good news for individuals and
families who stand to be relieved of many of the burdens of ill health. It is also
good news for our severely stretched NHS, potentially allowing the gradual
re-orientation of the Service to increase its activity in health promotion and
disease prevention.
So – we will continue to develop our existing programmes, be on the lookout
for and quick to identify and adapt to new opportunities.
If you have any ideas about partnership working towards health improvement
to discuss, have news about existing schemes you would like to circulate or
are looking for ideas or help with a potential health improvement project, we
would love to hear from you.
Let’s get back to the future! Do visit us again soon.

Professor Romesh Gupta OBE
Chair
March 2024