Long Covid Advocacy

Long Covid Advocacy is a Community Interest Company (CIC) and Social Enterprise that campaigns & advocates to improve the narrative about Long Covid and Post-acute viral illness and their related conditions. All of our surplus funds go to high quality medical research to enable an effective treatment.

Our 4 missions of advocacy are expressed through LIVE:

Legislate            citizen protections

Investigate        effective biomedical research

Ventilate            prevention

Educate             education, public & medical

The centre of LCA is a wife & husband team, Claire and Rupert Higham, who believe that health, the environment, philosophy & education cannot be separated. We are lucky to have our satellite system too  – friends of Long Covid Advocacy who advise & help in their specialist areas.

Claire graduated in Philosophy specialising in the History of Science, Medicine & Technology, Philosophy of Psychiatry, Psychology and Philosophy of Mind. (No, dualism is not dead!) Rupert is Assoc. Prof & University Lecturer in Educational Leadership at UCL, connecting climate & dialogue.

The purpose of Long Covid Advocacy is to highlight systemic injustice in the fields of Long Covid & ME/CFS. Experience of this stems from personal and academic experience. Claire has experienced post-acute viral illness 3 times. Long EBV, Long Flu, ME/CFS & Long Covid. After 4 decades of dealing with the medical system, it is clear that we still have light years to go to attain humane care & effective treatment.

We pay special attention to the monstrous misuse of the biopsychosocial school, and to the philosophical backbends some medical professionals perform to justify their theories. We feel it’s crucial to place Long Covid and ME/CFS in the context of the history of medicine – especially the female medical experience & hysteria.

Long Covid Advocacy also gives a voice to those in the community with & without a platform. We ask guest writers to contribute so a wider number of people can have their voice heard.

We also cooperate and work with other advocates and groups in the community. Claire is on the Advisory Board for Long Covid Support & LCA is supporter of Cleanair Classrooms.