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Professor Clare Bambra, NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria’s lead for Health Inequalities, delivered evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Friday 16 June.

Professor Clare Bambra from Newcastle University and Inequalities lead for the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria, was been appointed as an independent expert witness alongside Professor Sir Michael Marmot, UCL. Professor Bambra is a world-leading expert known for her research which focuses on understanding and reducing health inequalities.

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry, chaired by Baroness Hallet, has been set up to examine the UK’s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and learn lessons for the future.

Professor Bambra presented the joint report and evidence on Friday 16^th June to the government-commissioned inquiry which, in the first module, is looking at the role of the pandemic preparedness and resilience.

Professor Bambra said: “Whilst Covid-19 impacted everyone across the country, it was also a deeply unequal pandemic with some people and places effected more than others. I’m very pleased to be able to support the inquiry into finding out why this was the case.

“It’s really important that the experiences of different people across the country can be taken into account and that we can learn lessons for the future.”

The Inquiry has previously stated that “the unequal impacts of the pandemic will be at the forefront of all of the inquiry’s investigations”, and “it will consider the extent to which the government took into account the needs of minority groups, and others, when making civil emergency plans”.

The report from Professors Clare Bambra and Sir Michael Marmot is available in the Document section of the Inquiry website where you can also find out more about inquiry and the proceedings.

Find out more:

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Health for Wealth: Levelling up the North-South health divide