Press Release – 29 June 2026, 9:00 BST
The Race Equality Foundation awarded £5m for project to tackle structural racism and health inequity
The Race Equality Foundation has been awarded £5 million over five years by the National Lottery Community Fund. The funding will be used to establish three pilot ‘Anti-Racism Collaboratives’ with Co-Production Panels in Manchester, Lambeth and Barking & Dagenham tackling the structural causes of health inequities. As one of the partners, the Foundation will also contribute to expertise in evidence, influencing, and co-production to shape national policy, fund design and system change.
The Foundation continues to evidence the persistence of comparatively poorer health, but also what can be done to prevent it such as improving access to and value of sick pay to ensure when people fall ill they can recover and stay in work. This funding will allow the Foundation to work with a range of partners to co-produce real change by tackling the wider determinants of health.
This funding comes from The National Lottery Community Fund’s Health Inequities Partnerships. These are central to its commitment to address inequities and tackle unfair and avoidable health outcomes. Structural racism, discrimination, and systemic
injustice continue to shape people’s experiences of health. This work begins by listening, learning and taking action, together. This partnership is about working collectively to build understanding, share power and address the wider and deeply connected drivers of health inequities over time. It is part of The National Lottery Community Fund’s commitment to put community agency, power and control at the heart of its funding in England, as it plans to distribute at least £3 billion of life-changing grants by 2030.
“This is one of the most significant awards in our history, and it reflects the strength of our track record, our relationships with communities, and our expertise in tackling structural racism,” said Jabeer Butt OBE, Chief Executive of the Race Equality Foundation.
For interviews, please contact Shreya Banerjee at comms@racefound.org.uk
