About us

What is the Alliance for Natural Health International?

Alliance for Natural Health International is an internationally active non-governmental organisation promoting natural and sustainable approaches to healthcare worldwide. ANH-Intl campaigns across a wide range of fields, including for freedom of choice and the use of micronutrients and herbal products in healthcare. It also operates campaigns that aim to end mass fluoridation of water supplies and the use of genetically modified foods. Through its work particularly in Europe and the USA, the ANH-Intl works to accomplish its mission through its unique application of ‘good science’ and ‘good law’. 

The organisation was founded in 2002 by Dr Robert Verkerk, an internationally acclaimed expert in sustainability, who has headed the organisation since this time. In December 2009 the Alliance for Natural Health joined together with the American Association for Health Freedom (AAHF), of Washington DC, to form the Alliance for Natural Health International (ANH-Intl).

Click here to review all of the ANH's current campaigns.

Key achievements to date include:

• Raised public awareness of the significance of legislative threats to the long-term sustainability of natural healthcare
• Made significant amendments to EU legislation through collaboration with Members of the European Parliament
• Brought the landmark legal challenge to the EU Food Supplements Directive in the High Court London and the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg (2004-5)
• Promoted rational science as the basis on which safety of nutrients should be assessed at a global level through the Codex Alimentarius Commission
• Deconstructed flawed approaches to risk assessment and management, which are being used by regulators in an attempt to ban higher, beneficial dosages of natural products
• Demonstrated clear connections in the disproportionate regulatory management of a wide range of issues ranging from food supplementation, genetically modified (GM) foods, water quality (including fluoridation) and vaccination.
• Created a united front of common interests across Europe, the North America, Asia and other parts of the world.

We welcome you to our website. Please explore the many areas accessible via hyperlinks from our homepage, including our informative news archive and newsfeed. And most importantly - please get involved and support us in whatever way you can. 

We are solely donation funded, so all donations are very greatly appreciated.

We look forward to working with you to create a more natural future - in health, naturally.
 

The ANH-Intl Core Team

Robert Verkerk BSc MSc DIC PhD, Executive & Scientific Director

Dr Robert Verkerk is an internationally acclaimed expert in agricultural, environmental and health sustainability. He has a Masters Degree and a PhD from Imperial College London, awarded prior to his continuing research for a further 7 years at Imperial’s Department of Biology as a post-doctoral Research Fellow. In 2002, he founded the Alliance for Natural Health International which has become one of the leading, not-for-profit campaign organisations working globally to promote more sustainable healthcare systems through the use of natural and bio-compatible approaches. He is presently executive and scientific director of the ANH-Intl as well as being co-chair of the ANH-Intl’s Scientific and Medical Advisory Board (with Dr Jeanne Drisko, Kansas University Medical Center).

Amongst his many affiliations, he is a regional fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK), Patron of the College of Naturopathic Medicine (UK) and acts as scientific advisor to the Irish Association of Health Stores.  He has authored some 60 papers in scientific journals and conference proceedings and contributes regularly to magazines and other popular media. He is an accomplished and inspirational speaker and communicator on a wide range of issues relating to sustainability.  

Meleni Aldridge BSc Nut Med Cert LTFHE mBANT, Executive Coordinator

Meleni Aldridge has been a practitioner of alternative and complementary medicine for 23 years.  For 11 years she lectured at St Mary's University College, Middlesex and was instrumental in furthering student personal development initiatives, putting to good use the communications and organisational skills she gained in the banking and insurance sectors in her previous career.

In July 2005, she joined the Alliance for Natural Health International. In her role as Executive Coordinator, she works closely with Dr Robert Verkerk, Executive and Scientific Director, positively shaping the scientific and regulatory environment required to facilitate the future development of natural and sustainable healthcare.

During the last five years Meleni has been instrumental in furthering the ANH’s communications with the global CAM community and industry stakeholders and has been actively involved in consultations with the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority, the US Food and Drug Administration, the UK Food Standards Agency, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organisation of the United Nations. She regularly contributes to articles, columns and press releases in the field of sustainable healthcare and regulatory threats and maintains close collaboration with ANH-USA, based in Washington.

Sophie Middleton BA HND EBW SMT, Campaign Administrator

Sophie Middleton is the campaign administrator for the Alliance for Natural Health Europe office. She is a qualified Sports Massage Therapist, treating people and horses. Her natural interest and own positive experiences in complementary therapies and sports rehabilitation has led her down this path. She also has 10 years experience as a professional horse rider and trainer. Her organizational, administrative and communication skills help the behind-the-scenes work at the ANH. Being the campaign administrator means Sophie is heavily involved with communications, networking, liaison with the media, MPs, MEPs etc, administering the media monitoring and public affairs briefings.

Yvonne England Dip Raw mBANT, Practitioner Liaison

Yvonne is the team member responsible for practitioner liaison. After several years as an IT systems analyst, Yvonne retrained as a nutritional therapist. This was as a result both of her observation that nutrition appeared to be single biggest influence on her children’s health, as well as her long-term interest in biology and health. Much of Yvonne’s work during her child-rearing years has been voluntary, and she has supported ANH since it was founded in 2002. She grew up in Tanzania and Botswana, and now Yvonne looks forward to contact from natural health practitioners all over the world. 

Paul Harris BSc MBA, Financial & Administrative Director

Paul Harris has extensive experience of manufacturing and service companies, at Director level, in a wide range of business sectors. He brings his administrative and financial experience to the ANH, which is the only not-for-profit NGO with which he is associated. He has experience across all functions of business and an understanding of the preferred business operation from a funder’s perspective.

Adam Smith BSc ARCS, Science & Communications Officer

Adam Smith is the Science and Communications Officer for the Alliance for Natural Health International. After obtaining a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry at Imperial College London, he worked for over 10 years in the field of healthcare communications. These roles involved strategy, tactics and delivery of many and varied forms of communication for the healthcare sector, first in an account management and client handling capacity, and latterly as a medical writer. As well as working for ANH-Intl, Adam is completing a course in herbal medicine with the intention of going into practice at some point.

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