Celebrity chefs join Sightsavers in the fight to end childhood blindness
On World Sight Day, Thursday 12th October, celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay, Antony Worrall Thompson and UKTV Food chef and author of ‘Cooking Like Mummji are joining forces with Sightsavers International to help launch a campaign to stop millions of children going blind needlessly. One of the major causes of childhood blindness in developing countries is a lack of vitamin A from their diets and Antony and Vicky have cooked up delicious new recipes rich in vitamin A that people can make at home.
Over 1.4 million children around the world are blind and an astonishing 43 per cent of this is preventable. The number of children who are blind is set to increase, as an estimated 500,000 new cases of childhood blindness are reported each year. Across poor communities in low-income countries vitamin A deficiency and cataract are two of the major causes of childhood blindness.
To date almost a quarter of a million children around the world have been blinded by Vitamin A deficiency alone and a further 100 million children are at risk. Sightsavers works with local partners to prevent and cure a range of childhood blinding conditions, including cataract and trachoma.
Urgent, simple and sustained steps now need to be taken if vitamin A deficiency is to be eliminated by 2010. Sightsavers is already helping to facilitate the distribution of vitamin A as well as raising health and nutrition awareness. Children are missing out on vitally needed ingredients like palm oil, liver, fish, butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes and mangoes. A lack of vitamin A also increases the risk of life threatening diseases such as measles and diarrohea.
Celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay says: ‘No child should lose their sight unnecessarily. To think that a child may go blind just because they go without a few simple types of food is staggering. Sightsavers is trying to eliminate all types of avoidable blindness, including blindness caused by Vitamin A deficiency, and cataracts.’
Caroline Harper, Chief Executive of Sightsavers International says: ‘For hundreds of thousands of children in the poorest countries eating up their vegetables is vital if they don't want to lose their sight. Foods rich in vitamin A and getting an eye check are all easy ways to prevent children losing their sight. Sadly children in the developing world are four times more likely to lose their sight than children in the UK.’
She continued: 'Sightsavers is working through local partners to eradicate all the causes of childhood blindness and ensure that all children whether blind or sighted are socially included and have access to an education, their most direct route out of poverty.’
All the celebrity chefs partaking in this campaign have kindly donated new recipes rich in vitamin A to help publicise the campaign. They are available for free from: www.sightsavers.org/vitaminA
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To obtain the recipes (with pictures) or for any further information or quotes from the celebrity chefs please contact Michelle Akande on 01444 44 66 86 or James Georgalakis on 01444 44 66 71 or 07775 928253. press@sightsavers.org
Notes to editors:
1. Sightsavers International works in over 30 developing countries to prevent blindness, restore sight and improve life for those who will never see.
2. Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson has donated a recipe rich in vitamin A to help raise awareness of the scale of childhood blindness.
3. World Sight Day is an annual international event, held on the second Thursday of October, aimed at raising awareness of avoidable blindness.
4. Sightsavers is working through local partners in over thirty countries to prevent blindness amongst children and restore sight.
5. Nine out of ten children who are blind who live in the developing world will miss out on an education.
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