Health Advice Centre launch success

Published

10 March 2025

The University of East London (UEL) Health Advice Centre has collaborated with the London Borough of Newham, health professionals and local businesses to host its first ever Health Promotion Event at our Stratford campus last week.

Residents from all corners of Newham attended the free event to gain advice from health professionals, students and academics on how to maintain their wellbeing as part of UEL’s Year of Health.

UEL’s Year of Health is a bold initiative to tackle health disparities and rethink what health means for our students, our communities, and the world.

Visitors to the Health Promotion Event had the chance to test their blood pressure, learn how to navigate diabetes, detect breast cancer, and access a range of nutrition and physical wellbeing services. Sport therapy students from UEL were also on hand to carry out posture, function and movement assessments.

Image captionSport therapy students preparing for visitors to arrive.

Health Advice Centre Director Dr Alireza Monajati said, We

We are delighted with how the event has gone today, and it has been fantastic to see so many Newham residents join us and engage in the services we have on offer. The Health Promotion Events are a key part of UEL’s Year of Health and they support our broader commitment to tackling health inequalities in the borough of Newham. By working closely with public health partners and creating pathways that support long-term community well-being, events such as this can impact the lives of those most local to our university.’’

Health Promotion Event in progress with attendants sitting together — Image captionHealth Promotion Event in progress

The event was well attended by Newham residents who engaged with UEL staff and health workers throughout the day. Local resident Kashmira Singh said, ‘’I feel relaxed and happy that I came today.’’

Kashmira Singh speaks to two Nutrition Kitchen workers — Image captionKashmira Singh pictured on the far left

As well as learning about various health conditions and how to manage them, visitors were directed to a salad station. Here, they created and taste-tested nutritious salads provided by Nutrition Kitchen, who demonstrated how easy it is to create meals that include our 5-a-day. Nutrition Kitchen is a local provider who supports public health goals in Newham by supporting residents to make healthier choices through cooking and physical activity.

Well Newham, a local programme which provides a wide range of free activities to promote healthy living, was also at the event to promote their services.

Well Newham is run by Newham Council and NHS partners and aims to improve the way residents access health and wellbeing services in the borough. Well Newham advisor, Eleonora Homocea, shared more about their free activities. ’’We have a community gardening event where individuals can make new friends and learn how to treat their plants. It’s like a form of free therapy.’’

Following the success of the first Health Promotion Event, UEL will hold more events throughout the Year of Health, as part of wider efforts to tackle health inequalities in the community.

To learn more about the Health Advice Centre visit our webpage.