Our purpose

Oni et al. is an urban health practice, designing health into cities.

We apply public health science to consulting work, collaborating as technical partners on boundary-spanning solutions that seek to equitably integrate health into urban systems and environments.

Our consulting services also include advisory, thought leadership and speaking engagements on urban health and science diplomacy, shaping norms to health-proof the future of cities globally.

Our expertise and services

Technical
partnerships

Strategic partnerships are crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We apply urban health scientific expertise to inform the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies, initiatives and policies that seek to equitably create health in cities.

We work as technical partners with organisations across public, private and civil society sectors to conceptualise and co-design actions that advance the achievement of the SDGs, with a focus on SDGs 3 (health) and 11 (cities).

Advisory
roles

We serve as scientific advisers on urban health and science diplomacy for several organisations including:

Speaking
engagements

Ideas Lab, WEF Annual Meeting Davos 2018

Can blockchain technology solve the challenges of lack of integrated data and accountability mechanisms to improve public health in urban settings?

Prof. Tolu Oni of the University of Cape Town, South Africa, explains the underlying concepts behind this approach and the challenges in applying it.

Architects are health professionals too, Conscious cities festival, Royal Institute for British Architects, 2018

As part of the Conscious cities festival held at the Royal Institute of British Architects, Professor Tolu Oni explored how architecture and urban design can better respond to human needs. In this talk, she asks us to reimagine the future role of the architect to one that promotes health-enabling design standards that promote well-being.

Thought
leadership

The first in INGSA’s COVID-19 Video Series, that will be asking a diverse range of experts:
How has the world changed and what challenges will we face post-COVID?
Prof Tolu Oni discusses what has been revealed by the crisis, our need for ‘Emergency Health Foresight’, how preparedness is not enough, and what the world is at risk of un-learning in the wake of the crisis.

May 25, 2020

How the power of youth can help fight air pollution across Africa | Photo by Seth Doyle on Unsplash

How the power of youth can help fight air pollution across Africa

Air pollution kills more people in Africa than unsafe drinking water or malnutrition.

In this commentary to commemorate the first ever United Nations (UN) International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on 7 September 2020, UrbanBetter founder, Prof Oni sets out the importance of air quality for health and the threats to health posed by urban development processes that worsen air quality for the majority.

Read the commentary below:

Integrating health in human settlements

Health through human settlements: Investigating policymakers’ perceptions of human settlement action for population health improvement in urban South Africa.

Interested in our services?

An illustration using light blue, yellow, navy blue, beige and white, all colours synonymous with UrbanBetter and Oni et al