The University of Bolton’s Centre for Research for Health and Wellbeing has welcomed news that Rotary Cumbria & Lancashire are championing the expansion of health melas.

Cumbria and Lancashire have been awarded £65,000 from the Rotary International Foundation (Charity), part of which will be used to expand the mela movement into areas of greatest health need in their area.

The University annually hosts Bolton’s health mela. Health melas are fairs which promote health and wellbeing in a fun, inclusive way.
The University’s Professor Romesh Gupta leads the Centre for Research for Health and Wellbeing. He is also Chairman of the National Forum for Health and Wellbeing.
He said: ‘The Health mela concept is highly regarded by health professionals across the UK and is often cited as an example of best practice in community health engagement.
‘With the help of Rotary, we’ve been able to roll out the programme across many parts of Lancashire as well as places such as Bradford and Greater Manchester. The events are helping to identify health problems that might otherwise be missed so they are, quite literally, changing lives for the better.’

The next two Lancashire health melas will be held in the autumn.
• Leyland health mela will be held on Saturday 13 September at Leyland Civic Centre from 11am to 4pm
• Fylde Coast health mela will be held on Saturday 4 October at Fleetwood High School from 11am to 4pm.