Dr Annabel Sowemimo

Dr Annabel Sowemimo is a doctor, academic, activist and writer. She is an NHS Consultant in Sexual & Reproductive Health working in South London. She founded the charity the Reproductive Justice Initiative (RJI, formerly Decolonising Contraception), which aims to address health inequalities and racial disparities. RJI has been shortlisted for numerous awards, winning grassroots organisation of the year at the Sexual Health Awards in 2020 and a National LGBTQ Health Advisor award in 2022. In 2023, Annabel received an outstanding achievement award from the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH). Within her specialty, she is interested in tackling Gender Based Violence and improving access to healthcare for marginalised groups. She firmly believes that healthcare should be about empowering people with knowledge to make informed choices about their bodies.

Annabel is also a part-time PhD candidate and Harold Moody Scholar at King’s College London, with her research focusing on the experiences of Black women in Britain with fertility control methods. She has co-authored several academic publications for the likes of the Lancet and BMJ. Annabel has also worked as a freelance writer for numerous outlets including the Independent, Guardian and Novara Media, and she was a regular columnist for gal-dem. She jointly hosts The Sex Agenda podcast, and is frequently in demand for TV and radio. In 2023, she featured on the ITV documentary Our NHS with Dr Zoe Williams.

Annabel published her first book Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare with the Wellcome Collection in April 2023. It won the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing and a Breast Cancer Book of the Year award. It was also shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Non-Fiction, the British Academy Book Prize for Cultural Understanding and an Indie Champion’s Award.

Annabel spends her spare time campaigning on reproductive justice, against NHS cuts and improving healthcare for marginalised groups. She became a mum for the first time to a baby boy who arrived on her birthday in June 2024.

News featuring Annabel

New video resource on HIV and mental health for women with HIV

11 Dec 2025

Phoenix Health Movement is delighted to announce the launch of a new set of video resources for Black & migrant women with HIV about mental health, co-produced with 4M Network of Mentor Mothers. These videos provide empowering, reliable and engaging information,...

Positive Health – Episode 3

4 Jul 2025

In Episode 3 of Positive Health Co-hosts Susan Cole & Denis Onyango are joined by guests Dr Annabelle Sowemimo and Angelina Namiba to discuss HIV and Black communities. YouTube Shorts from Episode 3Advice to a woman newly diagnosed with HIVAdvice to Black women...

Dr Michael Brady

Dr Michael Brady Michael was appointed as the first National Advisor for LGBT+ Health at NHS England in 2019, with the remit of reducing LGBT+ health inequalities, improving healthcare experience, access and outcomes for LGBT+ individuals and ensuring the NHS is an...

Ophelia Haanyama

Ophelia Haanyama Ophelia Haanyama is a longtime activist, speaker and author born in Zambia, but based in Sweden since 1991. For over three decades she has led and been part of projects and networks such as Women for Positive Action and AIDS Action Europe. Ophelia has...

Nneka Nwokolo

Dr Nneka Nwokolo Dr Nneka Nwokolo, is the co-founder of NewWoman Health, a clinic offering holistic menopause care. She is also an Honorary Consultant Physician in Sexual Health and HIV at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London where she has run a menopause clinic...

Husseina Hamza

Husseina Hamza Husseina is the Co-founder and CEO of Red Ribbon Living Well. RRLW is a community-led organisation supporting individuals affected by and living with HIV, mental health, and families experiencing domestic violence. She is an experienced community...

Rebecca Mbewe

Rebecca Mbewe Rebecca Mbewe is one of the co-authors of ‘Our Stories Told By Us’ and has lived experience of HIV of over 25 years. Rebecca is a Research Assistant with the SHARE collaborative at Queen Mary University London, bringing over 25 years of professional and...

Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan

Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan is a Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV Medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust and Deputy Director of the SHARE Collaborative, Queen Mary University of London. Her clinical work, research and advocacy focus on improving...

Angelina Namiba

Angelina Namiba Originally from Kenya, Angelina has over 25 years of experience working in the HIV sector on different initiatives ranging from providing one-to-one support to people living with HIV, treatment advocacy, and managing service delivery to facilitating,...

Florence Eshalomi MP

Florence Eshalomi MP Florence is the Labour and Co-operative MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, and has been an MP continually since 2019. She is Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, and Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary...

Marc Thompson

Marc Thompson Marc Thompson, the Lead Commissioner of the London HIV Prevention Programme, is a health promotion specialist, award-winning podcaster, and LGBTQ cultural archivist. Over the past three decades, he has been at the forefront of HIV and LGBTQ activism,...