Walking Alongside Communities: A Commitment to Partnership and Change on Black Health Inequalities

Last week, I was honoured to be invited to speak at the Black Health Inequalities Summit. Thanks to National Lottery players, we’re proud to support this event hosted by the Caribbean & African Health Network (CAHN) and the London Inspire Programme.

While I’ll never fully understand or live the reality, experiences and challenges many Black people face, as an ally and partner I am committed to listening, supporting and working alongside Black communities to tackle health inequities rooted in structural racism and discrimination.

We strongly believe that The National Lottery Community Fund, as the UK’s largest community funder, has a shared responsibility to challenge systemic barriers and drive meaningful change. The summit brought together experts, community leaders, funders and advocates with a shared purpose. The work we’re doing together is hard. It’s systemic, it’s deeply entrenched, and it won’t change overnight. But I am convinced that by centring community voices, building trust, and working collaboratively, we can create a future that’s fairer and more just.

The Power of Community-Led Solutions

When we talk about tackling deep-rooted issues like health inequities, we must acknowledge that those closest to the challenges are often those best positioned to create effective solutions. This isn't just aspirational thinking—it's a principle we've seen proven time and again.

In Lambeth, for instance, residents facing significant challenges around mental health, housing instability and employment barriers created a groundbreaking partnership. Rather than imposing external solutions, with our support the Black Thrive project centred Black residents' voices, bringing them together with grassroots organisations and service providers to co-design interventions that addressed systemic barriers to wellbeing.

What made their approach transformative was their holistic vision. They didn't just create traditional job placement programmes —they engaged directly with employers to dismantle biased hiring practices, opening pathways to meaningful, long-term employment. They tackled housing and healthcare challenges by consistently centring the experiences of those most affected. What began as a project has evolved into a movement that continues to empower individuals and build community resilience.

This epitomises our core belief at The National Lottery Community Fund: real change begins with community. Our strategy, "It Starts with Community," is built on trusting and empowering those with lived experience. We recognise that people experiencing poverty, inequality, or discrimination often come up with the most innovative solutions to these challenges. Our role is to stand beside them, providing resources and support while respecting the power they have to shape their futures.

Addressing Health Inequities: A Commitment to Justice

The stark reality of health inequities in the UK demands urgent and sustained action. The statistics are sobering: Black babies are more than twice as likely to be stillborn as White babies. Black adults face disproportionately high rates of hypertension and stroke at younger ages than their White counterparts. These outcomes aren't random—they stem from systemic barriers including unequal healthcare access, discrimination within services, and the profound impact of racism on physical and mental wellbeing.

These health inequities don't exist in isolation. They're inextricably linked to broader social determinants: poverty, housing instability, and limited opportunities. Addressing these requires us to be bold in challenging systems that perpetuate injustice.

The Jasmine Recovery Programme is a powerful example of community-led solutions addressing complex challenges. This Reaching Communities-funded initiative supports South Asian women who have survived domestic abuse and violence, creating culturally sensitive spaces that acknowledge the unique barriers these women face. By combining emotional support with practical resources and culturally appropriate services, the programme helps survivors heal, rebuild their lives, and often become advocates themselves. Their work demonstrates how targeted, community-specific approaches can break cycles of trauma and foster healthier communities.

Co-Creating Solutions for Systemic Change

At The National Lottery Community Fund, we're committed to evolving our approach in partnership with communities. With input from the communities we serve, we're currently redesigning two of our flagship programmes—Reaching Communities and National Lottery Awards for All—to ensure they're more accessible and responsive to community needs.

Through our new Solidarity Fund launching this summer we will commit £50 million – 10% of our England funding - annually to provide long-term and core funding to organisations tackling the root causes of poverty, discrimination, or disadvantage. This fund will place equity at its core, prioritising communities facing the greatest barriers to access and opportunity and seeking to address systemic challenges.

The Solidarity Fund embodies a shift in power dynamics. By inviting communities to take the lead and shape strategies based on their lived experiences, we're working to create more balanced partnerships that acknowledge expertise beyond traditional qualifications.

At the summit, colleagues from The National Lottery Community Fund hosted workshops to co-develop our approach to tackling health inequities rooted in structural racism and discrimination. The key takeaway was that diverse decision-making is essential at every level. While we talk about sharing power equally, our current systems simply weren't built for it. We need fresh thinking. Lived experience is invaluable; people from marginalised communities must help shape policies that affect their lives. To tackle these complex issues, we need clear, inclusive and accountable decision-making with diverse perspectives at every stage. Approaches like participatory grant-making can empower grassroots groups by giving them a genuine voice in decisions and resources.

We're now using this feedback to deepen our understanding of health systems, focusing our efforts where we can make the biggest difference. Together, we're developing a theory of change for health initiatives that address structural racism and discrimination head-on. This summer, we'll be inviting organisations led by and serving communities facing the most severe health inequalities caused by structural racism. We'll work together to create solutions and drive meaningful change.

Building Trust for Transformative Change

Funding is just one piece of the puzzle. For transformative change to happen, communities need trustworthy partners willing to listen, learn, and adjust. That's why we're looking inward as well, ensuring we hold ourselves accountable for embedding equity throughout our organisation.

Later this summer, we'll share our Equity-based approach for funding alongside an organisational Statement of Intent—firm, unwaivable commitments to guide our work. We're building a team that reflects the diversity of communities we serve, updating recruitment practices, investing in staff training on inequality issues, and simplifying our funding processes to remove barriers for grassroots organisations.

Trust is built through consistent action—showing up, being transparent, and sharing power. By committing to these principles, we aim to create stronger, more meaningful partnerships that empower communities to drive the changes they want to see.

Key Commitments to Drive Change

As we move forward, The National Lottery Community Fund remains dedicated to:

1. Building meaningful partnerships and allyship by listening, collaborating, and empowering communities to drive impactful change. We recognise that our role is to support community expertise rather than imposing solutions.
2. Tackling health inequities and systemic barriers by centring community voices, challenging structural injustices, and driving meaningful, long-term change that addresses root causes rather than symptoms.
3. Evolving and co-creating solutions with stakeholders to ensure that systemic challenges are addressed collaboratively and effectively, recognising that wisdom lies within communities themselves.
4. Making firm commitments through our funding via the Solidarity Fund and our upcoming Equity-based funding approach and organisational Statement of Intent, translating values into concrete action.

Throughout the summit, one core message stood out: if we want real, lasting change on health inequalities, we need more than short-term projects or interventions. Professor Bola Owolabi spoke about social movement thinking as a way to build long-term, community-led solutions. The Inspire co-chairs reflected on how their own work has grown from an initial project into a structured programme, and now into an ongoing movement that truly involves local people. As I said at the conference, while I may not share the same lived experiences, I’m here as an ally and partner. At The National Lottery Community Fund, we are committed to walking alongside communities and backing these collective efforts for genuine, long-term impact.

This isn't work we can—or should—do alone. We must work in partnership to combine our strengths, building and supporting communities where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. The energy, passion, and powerful conversations at the Black Health Inequalities Summit reinforced why this work matters—and why it must continue evolving toward truly transformational change.