Government of Canada Announces Investment of More than $40M in Child Health Research

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Canadian and international research teams receive funding to promote child health by preventing chronic disease

Toronto, ON – Nov 20, 2017

November 20 is National Child Day – a time to raise awareness of children’s rights and promote efforts to help children reach their full potential. Good health is one of the keys to achieving this full potential. That is why the Government of Canada is investing in research that improves the health of children so that they can grow into healthy adults who go on to live long and productive lives.

Today, Bill Blair, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and to the Minister of Health, announced a federal investment of $33.4 million over five years to support a major research initiative that seeks to prevent chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, through effective intervention in the earliest days of life. An additional $7.8 million is being provided through a partnership with national research agencies in India, China and South Africa. This funding will help support The Healthy Life Trajectories (HeLTI) initiative, a major national and international research initiative led by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

HeLTI is focused on preventing chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease by understanding the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to these diseases and studying interventions designed to promote good health from pre-conception to early childhood.

CIHR has also recently launched a process to create an Indigenous component of HeLTI in Canada in consultation with Indigenous communities.