Local Health and Global Profits (LHGP) recently held its annual meeting over two days, bringing together its local authority and advocacy partners, and researchers from across the network to share learning, build on each other's experiences, and plan the road ahead.
LHGP's mission is to understand and address the ways in which business practices, products, and lobbying shape the health of communities, also known as the commercial determinants of health. To do this, researchers from five leading universities work alongside local governments, the Association of Directors of Public Health, and civil society groups including Action on Smoking and Health, the Obesity Health Alliance, the Alcohol Health Alliance, and the Centre for Thriving Places. Working across eight local authority areas in England, LHGP maps local systems, combines that with evidence on effective actions and economic modelling, and uses this to develop, implement, and evaluate population-level approaches to improve health and reduce inequalities.
Day one: Local authorities in focus
The first day was dedicated to local authority representatives from across LHGP's eight case study sites. The meeting was opened by Professor Anna Gilmore, Director of LHGP, who set the tone for a day of collaborative, forward-looking discussion.
The morning session, Navigating Political Change, explored the shifting political landscape across local authorities in England and the opportunities this presents for public health influence. Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, Director of Public Health and Wellbeing at Lancashire County Council, and Councillor Douglas Johnson, Green Party Councillor for Sheffield City Council, shared their experiences of working across political parties to advance public health goals. Their presentations prompted discussion among delegates about how these lessons might be applied within their own local contexts.
The afternoon turned to the theme of working with business locally, examining how local authorities can build meaningful partnerships with corporate actors in ways that create genuine health benefits for communities. Practice-sharing presentations, including from Chris Dabbs, Chief Executive of Unlimited Potential, highlighted examples of constructive engagement with business, before structured discussion explored the challenges of translating these approaches into local action.
Day two: Looking forward
The second day shifted focus to LHGP's team, providing space to take stock of where the programme stands and to map out the steps needed to move forward. It was an opportunity for the team to consolidate learning from the first day and align on priorities for the period ahead.
Reflecting on the meeting, Prof. Gilmore said: "This annual gathering is at the heart of what LHGP is about. We are bringing together the people doing this work on the ground, learning from each other, and making sure we're moving in the same direction. The conversations we had over these two days, about political change, about working with business, about where we go next, remind me of why this programme matters and the real opportunity we have to make a difference."