The Anaphylaxis Campaign is a British charity that solely supports people at risk from severe allergic reactions. For over 21 years, the charity has provided information and support to patients and their families. The Anaphylaxis Campaign was created to ensure a safe environment for all people with allergies by working with and educating the food industry, schools, pre-schools, colleges, health professionals and other key audiences. It focuses on medical facts, food labelling, risk reduction and allergen management. The charity also trains patients, carers and healthcare professionals through its Allergy Wise online training. They have a nationwide network of volunteer-led peer support groups for people whose lives are affected by the risk of an acute allergic reaction, and to help people with severe allergies to be more confidently in control of their lives. It actively campaigns to raise awareness of anaphylaxis with the general public and with the relevant authorities for better allergy care and treatments.
Origins and key people
The Campaign was established in 1994 following the deaths of four people from allergic reactions to nuts. Its founder and honorary vice-president, David Reading, was made OBE in the 2005 New Year's Honours List for services to people with allergies. The Campaign's honorary president is William Frankland, the pioneer immunologist, who turned 107 in March 2019. Olympic swimmer Mark Foster has been the Campaign's patron since 2009. His friend and fellow-athlete, Ross Baillie died following an anaphylactic reaction in 1999. The chef Giorgio Locatelli is also a patron of the Anaphylaxis Campaign since 2013.
National lobbying
The Anaphylaxis Campaign is a founder member of the National Allergy Strategy Group, a coalition of charities, professional organisations and industry, that seeks to improve health services for allergy sufferers in the UK. The charity has called for clearer guidelines and greater consistency on food labelling. It has also lobbied to remove what it considers to be unnecessary 'may contain' labelling, arguing that food manufacturers should only use these labels when there is a genuine risk to allergy sufferers. The Anaphylaxis Campaign has tried to raise awareness of the problems caused by inconsistency in how severe allergy is diagnosed. To help improve awareness among frontline medical practitioners, it launched an online training programme, called AllergyWise, in 2011, accredited by the Royal College of Nursing. In March 2011, the charity held a national conference with the Food Standards Agency, the UK government department, on 'Communicating the science of food allergy'.
