College welcomes Commonwealth fellows
The College welcomed a cohort of Commonwealth fellows being supported by University College London to Prescot Street recently, as part of its commitment to learning and sharing best practice in the UK and internationally.
The visit was part of a fellowship programme that aims to help the fellows develop a project to improve the experiences of LGBT+ communities from a healthcare perspective in their own countries.
During their visit, led by Joint Presidential Lead for Equity and Equality, Dr Raj Mohan, the fellows engaged with various stakeholders, including the College's President, CEO, and staff members who shared their insights into the College’s approach and practices relating to equality, diversity and inclusion and how it influences wider policy in this area.
We also discussed strategic priorities, communication strategies, and initiatives such as Advancing Mental Health Equity (AMHE), Tackling racism in the workplace guidance, the Women's Mental Health Matters Strategy, commitments to fostering an LGBTQ+ friendly workplace and the role of the Rainbow Special Interest Group (SIG).
The fellows, including Dr Charles Okolie, Dr Joachim Mabula and Gigi Louisa, hail from diverse professional backgrounds and are deeply committed to advancing mental health equity and ensuring that mental health services are inclusive, respectful, and effective for all individuals, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Dr Okolie coordinates HIV Care and Treatment projects in Nigeria, Dr Mabula serves at a public health facility in Tanzania, and Gigi Louisa is a program manager at an organisation in Kenya focused on sexual health and rights.
