Medical Doctor, Public Health Academic, and Activist
NHS, University of East Anglia, Lancet Migration
United Kingdom
Dr Rita Issa is a British-Lebanese primary care physician and PhD scholar researching loss due to climate change through the mental health concept of solastalgia. Rita's work on the climate crisis has taken many forms over the years, in a bid to 'find what works'. This has spanned academia - as research fellow in climate, migration and health at Lancet Migration; working through institutions - such as the British Medical Association and WHO; with NGOs - including MSF and aboard a Greenpeace ship; and through the media - as a regular contributor for the Independent, BBC, and Novara Media. Over the past decade, Rita has also spent considerable time building and growing social movements, including Doctors for Extinction Rebellion. She is a leading voice in healthcare worker activism in the UK, is editor of the upcoming book ‘Health, Resistance and Activism’ (Oxford University Press), and her contributions in this space have been recognised in the London Mayor’s "Sustainable Public Sector Changemaker 2022”.