Professor Lakhanpaul and the NEON Programme win RSPH Award

(Photograph: The NEON team accept RSPH award. Prof Lakhanpaul - third from left.)

Congratulations to Co-POWeR's Professor Monica Lakhanpaul and The Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition (NEON) Programme, on being awarded a prestigious Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) Health and Wellbeing Award 2021, in the 'Health at every age' category.

Established in 2007, the RSPH Health & Wellbeing Awards recognise and celebrate a wide range of activities, policies and strategies that empower communities and individuals, improve the population’s health, and address the wider social determinants of health.

NEON is led by Prof Monica Lakhanpaul from the Institute of Child Health and Dr Logan Manikam from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care, both at University College London. It is funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), and supported by NIHR ARC North Thames, who submitted the nomination. The programme has been developed in partnership with South Asian communities in East London and involves a wide range of academic, health, local government, and charity partners.

NEON is a community-led and co-produced intervention, which supports the development of safe, inclusive environments for mothers and carers to explore the key health challenges they face, to share information about good practices, and to support each other to overcome any issues.

Programme lead, Professor Monica Lakhanpaul, said:

We are honoured to have been recognised for this award and I receive it on behalf of our community members, research team and local partners who have worked in close collaboration every step of the way. The NEON programme was developed with the community, for the community, ensuring that it was tailored to their needs, and that the voices of mothers and carers were at the heart of this work. Gaining national recognition for a project that is truly community-led demonstrates the growing acknowledgement that inclusion and co-production are crucial for improving the health and wellbeing of the public.

Further information about NEON.