Dave Bradley, Health Development Coordinator for Higher Blackley, Harpurhey and Charlestown recently attended the launch of Black History Month (BHM) hosted by CAHN (Caribbean and African Health Network) at Manchester Cathedral. Dave blogs on the importance of celebrating BHM and how our neighbourhood approach is addressing challenges and inequalities.

I attended the launch of Black History Month hosted by CAHN. Manchester Cathedral was packed with everybody from little children to local dignitaries and community leaders all there to celebrate the enormous contributions people of colour have brought and continue to bring to our city. Whilst it was truly inspirational to listen to some of the stories from people, it was also evident that there is still much work to do to tackle the inequalities that still exist.

As a neighbourhood, we are committed to addressing these inequalities and have and will continue to work hard to develop links with our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. We have developed a local inclusion board that puts our marginalised communities at the heart of the conversation and engages partners that support those communities within our area. We have and will continue to support organisations to develop their knowledge of health inequalities and public health data and because of the increased knowledge we have developed plans and projects to support groups to overcome barriers to good health. This has resulted in community funding applications going forward with a range of community organisations involved.

Our work is still very much in its infancy; however I do feel that we have made some significant steps forward during the last couple of years and we will continue to do so.

Find out more about Black History Month here.