#PlanetPartners: University keeping people healthy in Reading and far beyond

Reducing snakebite deaths by taking education direct to affected communities and helping keep people active closer to home are some of the ways the University of Reading is supporting global efforts to promote health and wellbeing.

The University’s institutional and research efforts are underpinned by the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are aimed at tackling societal and environmental challenges across the planet and are closely aligned with the University’s own strategy.

This May, the University of Reading is running a new #PlanetPartners campaign, inviting its entire community to share examples of work towards all the SDGs.

SDG3: Good Health and Well-being covers contributing to keeping people healthy and active and promoting well-being for everyone, at all ages.

“This study demonstrates the major initiatives of University of Reading to improve global health in vulnerable regions.” - Dr Sakthi Vaiyapuri, snakebite awareness campaign lead

Examples of work by the University to address SDG3 include:

• Helping people in India and countries worldwide manage the neglected threat of snakebites, which affects nearly 5 million people and causes around 150,000 deaths each year, through an awareness campaign titled Venomous Snakebites: Rapid Action Saves Lives.
• Carrying out British Hearth Foundation-funded research into blood clotting to develop personalised stroke and heart disease treatments.
• Providing clinical treatments for teenage anxiety and depression through the AnDY Research Clinic, and supporting students while they are at the University with a range of well-being services.
• Collaborating with Berkshire health institutes, such as the Royal Berkshire Hospital, through Reading Health Partners.
• Producing hundreds of skilled graduates in health professions – 771 in 2018/19.
• Providing Woodley FC with a home pitch at its Bulmershe sports pavilion.
• Holding regular Stay Active sessions for over-55s in the community at the Whiteknights campus Sports Park, plus activities with communities and charities thanks to student volunteers.

Dr Sakthi Vaiyapuri, Associate Professor in Cardiovascular & Venom Pharmacology at the University of Reading, said: “The multifaceted snakebite public awareness campaign led by the University of Reading has substantially improved the awareness about snakes and snakebites among the rural people living in Tamil Nadu, a large state in South India.

“Notably, this campaign has significantly changed the treatment-seeking behaviour of snakebite victims and their relatives, which resulted in reduced snakebite-induced deaths and disabilities – the key goal of this campaign.

“This study demonstrates the major initiatives of University of Reading to improve global health in vulnerable regions.”

The UN’s SDGs incorporate themes across the ‘five Ps’: People, Prosperity, Planet, Peace and Partnership. These align with the University of Reading’s own strategic themes: Community, Excellence, Sustainability and Engagement.

This campaign follows the publication of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2021, in which Reading participated for the first time and ranked in the top 200 globally, which scored participating universities on their support of the individual SDGs.

#PlanetPartners

The University’s latest campaign is a continuation of the #PlanetPartners campaign launched by the University in October 2019, which is highlighting ways the University is working with global partners on projects that benefit the environment.

Follow the campaign and share your examples of work  on Twitter: @UniofReading | Facebook: /theuniversityofreading | Instagram: @uniofreading | LinkedIn: University of Reading | TikTok: @uniofreading using the hashtags #PlanetPartners and #sdgoals