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It has been well documented that people from BME communities have a high representation of health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension when compared to their white counterparts. This means that they run a higher risk of suffering stroke. People of African and Caribbean origin are at increased risk of having stroke, and the number of people affected by the condition is higher among this ethnic group than any other.

One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer. There are more than 200 different types of cancer and some are more common among ethnic minorities. African-Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than white men. Mouth cancer is more common among South Asian communities. Liver cancer is higher among Bangladeshi and Chinese communities.

There is still a taboo around BME communities and dementia. Some people still don’t recognise it and often interventions occur when the situation is at crisis point. Yet some projections covering particular London boroughs indicate that incidence of dementia among particular BME communities could increase by 300 percent. Afiya is exploring how social marketing can be used to promote greater awareness and more targeted activities around long term conditions.

Some of the cancer focused projects we have led on include the Cancer Awareness Training Project for Refugees, Carers and Older People, which was funded by The Big Lottery Fund from 2004 to 2007.