Public health and prevention is one of the RCP’s three campaigning pillars.
For more than 60 years, the RCP has championed action on the biggest threats to health, from smoking and air pollution to obesity, health inequalities and climate change.
Our physicians see every day how poor health, poverty and inequality drive demand on the NHS. Preventing illness and reducing health inequalities must be central to creating a healthier population and a sustainable health service.
What we're doing
Working with our members, fellows and special advisers, we are campaigning for:
- a cross-government strategy to reduce health inequalities
- stronger action on tobacco, obesity, alcohol harm and air pollution
- greater focus on the wider determinants of health, including housing, employment and poverty
- ambitious action on climate change and its impact on health.
We work closely with leading health alliances and campaign groups, including ASH, the Alcohol Health Alliance, the Obesity Health Alliance, the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change and Health Equals, to influence government policy and improve population health.
Alongside our policy work, we support physicians with guidance, e-learning, podcasts and practical resources to help address health inequalities and improve patient outcomes.
Sustainability and climate
Climate change is the greatest long-term threat to health globally. The RCP is campaigning for ambitious action to reduce emissions, build climate-resilient healthcare services and protect population health.
Read more about our work on extreme heat
