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Prime Minister's Office
10 Downing Street

Women’s Health Issues Champion

1999. Nighat Arif

Dr Nighat Arif, from Buckinghamshire is a GP and the BBC Breakfast’s resident doctor who is passionately opening up conversations about women’s health, particularly among British-South Asian communities.

Originally from Pakistan, Dr Nighat started to use social media to raise awareness of women’s health and connect to her community following the birth of her third son. Initially making short, evidenced-based recordings on common issues faced by women including support for endometriosis, menopause and perimenopause, as well as offering advice, Dr Nighat’s videos have gained a huge audience and received over 1 million views.

Dr Nighat has led various campaigns including highlighting the cultural differences in how women experience menopause, producing the first poster in Urdu to help women understand common symptoms, and increased organ donation among ethnic minority communities.  Dr Nighat is also a member of Team Halo, working with doctors and scientists from around the world in partnership with the UN to improve take up of the COVID-19 vaccine.

In a personal letter to Dr Nighat, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

“I want to thank you for your pioneering work supporting women’s health, especially among British South Asian communities.

“Through your roles on television and your online videos, you are doing so much to help people overcome cultural differences and language barriers to understand their symptoms. You are breaking down stigma around conditions such as menopause and, as part of Team Halo, you helped give people the confidence to take up the COVID-19 vaccine.”

Pictured above: Dr Nighat with Minister Caulfield at a Women’s health strategy event at 10 Downing Street. Picture by Rory Arnold / No 10 Downing Street.

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