National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome UK

This article is part of the Spinwatch public health oriented Alcohol Portal project.

National Organisation for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome UK (NOFAS UK) is a charity that works to help support individuals and families impacted by foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), is an umbrella term for disorders caused by a mother's heavy drinking during pregnancy. NOFAS UK work primarily to raise awareness of the condition, in turn highlighting the dangers of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and to provide services to those affected by the condition.

Funding

The Charity Commission requires charities to record both restricted donations, where finance is given for a specific purpose and unrestricted finance that can be spent on anything the charity feels will benefit the cause it represents. The following details of NOFAS donations was taken from their accounts logged with the Charity Commission of England and Wales for the year ending July 31st 2010.

• Restricted

City Bridge Trust funding for Support Group £4000 | Diageo to fund Baby Bundle £20,000 | Goldsmith Foundation funding for Support Group £2,000| Lottery Funding for Helpline £37, 3 44 | Lloyds Collection funding for Support Group £2,000| Moffat Charitable Trust funding for Helpline £4,000| Training and Development Agency for Schools funding for TDA Project £26, 024 | Total Restricted Funds: £95,386

• Unrestricted

Catkin Pussywillow Chritable Trust, £10,000 | Celia Atkin £10,000 | Garfield Weston Foundation £5,000 | Other £18,229| Total unrestricted funds: £43,229

Diageo's Baby Bundle Project

One of the projects NOFAS UK deliver is funded directly by drinks giant Diageo. The funding from the world's largest distilled spirits producer enables NOFAS to provide specialist training for midwives. The "Baby Bundle Project", "Alcohol in Pregnancy - Training for Midwives Project" provides specialist information about alcohol in pregnancy to midwives. Three study days were organised, two in London and one in Birmingham for 226 midwives, care workers and substance misuse professionals and there is still a waiting list to be admitted to the training programme. The support offered by Diageo to this project is being used as part of their commitment to Andrew Lansley's Public Health Responsibility Deal a strategy to encourage corporations to take responsibility for the harm caused by their products and to prevent formal legislation denting profits. Diageo are part of the Responsibility Deal Alcohol Network and supporting this project is one of their voluntary pledges. The project was widely reported in the UK press, although it has not been without its critics. Don Shenker the then chief executive of Alcohol Concern made clear the dangers of allowing the alcohol industry to have involvement in promoting educational schemes "It is deeply worrying that alcohol education is being paid for by the drinks industry, as it is then unaccountable and not necessarily based on evidence or public health guidance."