Hundreds of yellow themed fundraising events will be taking place this Friday (March 6) to mark Big Yellow Friday, the national awareness and fundraising day for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF). Amongst all the bake sales and fun fancy dress, however, is a serious message – 20 children each week in the UK are diagnosed with a liver disease, a diagnosis which means a lifetime of medical care.
This year, for the first time Big Yellow Friday is extending beyond the UK as it is adopted by ESPGHAN, the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition. As childhood liver disease is now thought to affect up to one in ten children in Europe, ESPGHAN is determined to drive pan-European awareness of liver disease in children by building on the success of Big Yellow Friday in the UK.
The professional body is calling on policymakers to work closely with national societies and patient organisations to help ensure childhood liver diseases are better understood, diagnosed earlier and treated effectively, ensuring that infants, children and adolescents can live the best possible life.
“We look forward to playing our part, producing a number of resources and assets to help increase awareness and understanding of childhood liver disease,” said Professor Deirdre Kelly, Chair of the ESPGHAN Public Affairs Committee.
Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, which launched Big Yellow Friday in 2008, is delighted to receive ESPGHAN’s backing.
“There are many different forms of childhood liver disease and there is so much we have yet to learn about the possible causes,” said Chief Executive, Alison Taylor. ”Raising awareness of these conditions is vital so we are delighted that ESPGHAN is joining in by spreading the word amongst its extensive networks this year. Their support will make a real difference to the many families whose lives are affected by liver disease in their child.”
For a short video summary of the ESPGHAN campaign go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fMhBRRA45w
You can support Big Yellow Friday by going to https://childliverdisease.org/donate/.
For more information visit https://childliverdisease.org/support-us/big-yellow-friday/.
