The great debate: Harvard alumni take on the 10-Year Plan for Health in England
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Alumni Chapter of London held its capstone event of the year on November 7, 2025. Set against the imposing art deco backdrop of the Senate House in Bloomsbury, the former Ministry of Information provided the ideal stage for a high-stakes discussion on one of the most significant health pronouncements of the past decade.
The motion, provided by Siva Anandaciva (Director of Policy, The King’s Fund), cut straight to the core of UK healthcare sustainability. Team Harvard (Against the Motion) was led by Rifat Atun and supported by HarpreetSood, MPH ’13, and Adam Boggon, MPH ’23. They won the coin toss and took the contrarian stance, arguing fiercely against the motion and in support of the current NHS model. They faced a formidable UK team led by Martin McKee (Professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine).
In a closely fought contest, the UK side ultimately prevailed, though the Harvard team held the audience rapt with their masterful blend of facts and sharp rhetoric. The discussion generated intense engagement from the audience, which continued into the following mini-debate on digitalization and health inequalities. The successful event—judged by an esteemed panel led by Michael Mainelli, BA ’84, and including Michael Borowitz, chief economist, UKHSA; Tsitsi Chawatama-Kwambana, chair of the board, Save the Children; and Phoebe Dunn, senior fellow, The Health Foundation—set a high bar for future chapter events and solidified the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Alumni London Chapter’s place in the UK public health discourse.
