The Kooks and Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody are amongst celebrities lining up to support a new campaign for free healthcare in Africa spearheaded by Save The Children. The group are to call on leaders to deliver on pledges made at last year's G8 summit, and will publish a new report which will reveal how many African children die every year because they can't afford medical attention.
Other celebrities backing the 'Ouch' campaign include former UN human rights commissioner Mary Robinson, ex-ER actress Alex Kingston and Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq. The aforementioned Gary Lightbody said: "I can't imagine what it must be like for families having to choose between putting food on the table or seeing the doctor. In this day and age we have to put a stop to it."
The campaign is urging people to show their support by texting the word "Ouch" to 88600 (standard rates apply), to form part of a petition to be presented to Tony Blair ahead of this year's G8 in St Petersburg in July. Joe Barrell, from Save the Children, says: "World leaders made promises - and as Nelson Mandela recently said: 'Promises to children should never be broken'."