Chinelo L. Njaka, Ph.D.
Chinelo L. Njaka, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) joined the Healthwatch Southwark Advisory Board in April 2021. She is an academic and community/public sociologist based in Peckham, London and has lived in Southwark for fourteen years. Having been in the voluntary and community sector for the whole of her adult life, Dr. Njaka is the Founder and Director of Peckham Rights!, a non-profit organisation that promotes human rights for marginalised communities and challenges systemic racism through locally based research, consultancy, education, and community development initiatives throughout Peckham, Southwark, and beyond.
Throughout her professional life, she has had a keen interest in health, working in research, public health, and health promotion around HIV and sexual health, and more recently COVID-19. Focusing particularly on racialised and marginalised communities, Dr. Njaka is passionate about advocating for equality in health and social care access and services. As a member of the Healthwatch Southwark Advisory Group, she believes that communities should help shape services to best meet the needs of those who need it most but have been systemically disadvantaged for varied reasons.