The National Allergy Strategy warmly welcomed at Northern Ireland launch

Allergy UK representatives were at Stormont in Belfast on June 1 for the launch of the first National Allergy Strategy in Northern Ireland. With over 150 attendees, the audience included several Members of the Legislative Assembly, key civil servants, healthcare professionals, and families living with allergies.

Attendees heard from keynote speakers including Kate Nicholl MLA, who pledged support for the allergic community, saying: “It is time for us to step up for you… your voices will drive the change we so desperately need.”

Dr Caoimhe Glancy, Northern Ireland lead for the National Allergy Strategy Group, said the strategy “represents the combined voices of the allergy community which cannot be ignored if we are to progress as a society.”

Guests also heard from lived experience speakers Collette and Caolan Donoghey, then Ciara Doody, about their experiences living with allergy in Northern Ireland. The room was silent as Collette shared the moving story of the day Caolan had a severe anaphylactic reaction and fell quiet once more as Ciara spoke of the ostracisation she had experienced by people who lacked awareness of the realities of allergies.

We are deeply grateful to all those who spoke and especially to the lived experience speakers for sharing their powerful testimony.

Following speeches, the room came alive with conversation, with those present speaking of what more could be done to facilitate change for the allergic community in Northern Ireland.

The event was made possible through the generous support of the charity Food Allergy Northern Ireland. A large group of allergic children and parents attended the event with representatives from the charity.

Conversations were broadly positive, with those present encouraged by the feeling that genuine progress was possible and achievable without the coming years and Allergy UK staff heard from many politicians and clinicians who feel a renewed optimism that together, united, we can tackle long standing issues. By bringing together local Northern Ireland families and clinicians, the event made an impact, raising awareness and demonstrating the real, lived experience behind our work.

We were honoured to be joined by Minister Paul Given, Minister of Education for Northern Ireland, who met with young members of the allergic community and spoke about his willingness to look at gaps in knowledge and best practice in schools, especially in light of ongoing campaigning for Benedict’s Law. We were delighted that the Minister made the effort to attend the launch event and spoke to Professor Adam Fox OBE, Chair of the National Allergy Strategy, as well as with parents present.

Following the meeting, he reiterated on social media that “the issues raised will play an important role in ongoing departmental discussions as we move forward with a review of current guidance.”

Change is needed. Freedom of Information data, gathered from 1 in 3 Northern Ireland schools, shows that:

• Only 51% of schools reported having a policy that mentions allergies, with less than 1 in 4 having a dedicated allergy policy.
• 2 in 3 schools do not hold spare adrenaline auto-injectors.
• Only 1/3 schools train staff on what food allergy is and 44% provide no training in managing allergies in activities and trips.
• 57% of schools rated government support and information on allergy safety below 5/10.

Allergy UK was proud to attend the launch event and look forwards to continuing to engage with political leadership and local communities across the four nations, to ensure a better future for all members of the allergic community, regardless of where they live.

With launch events now having taken place in Westminster and Stormont, we look forward to the launches of the National Allergy Strategy in Wales and Scotland and to continuing the national conversation and the deeply exciting progress being made across the UK.

The Strategy can be read in full at www.nasguk.org