Over the past two decades, BC Children’s Hospital has initiated projects aimed at generating and sharing knowledge as well as strengthening skills to improve child health globally. In 2004, with the support of the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, BC Children’s Hospital established the Centre for International Child Health to serve as a leadership and coordinating body for international initiatives.
The Centre was established to 1) focus and support the international activities of the physicians and staff from the BC Children's Hospital and the University of British Columbia, 2) help build expertise and capacity with our partner organizations in mid-level and third world countries, and 3) support the engagement of trainees in global child health. The initial strategy was to develop international partnerships within which capacity building and research could be conducted, with an initial focus on China and Uganda because of important historical relationships with these two countries. The first major project of the Centre was the launch in April, 2004, of a capacity building partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, China. This agreement had the aim of further developing the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University as a national pediatric cardiac sciences training site centered on the detection and management of congenital heart diseases. The BC Children's Foundation identified funding to support this initiative. This was soon followed by an agreement with the Guangzhou Children’s Hospital to develop a neurosciences training program (pediatric neurology, rehabilitation and child development). In 2006 the BC Children's Foundation secured funding to launch two additional training programs at the Fudan Children’s Hospital in emergency medicine and infectious diseases. These two initiatives will allow for the training of pediatricians from across China and are funded until 2010-2011. These projects are funded through targeted “gifts” received by the BC Children's Foundation.
Beginning in 2004, the Centre began exploring a partnership in Uganda with Makerere University. An official Memorandum of Understanding between Makerere University and the University of British Columbia was signed late in 2006, with the Centre acting as the coordinating body for this partnership. The partnership focuses on maternal and child health as priority areas. Under this agreement the Centre has been financially supporting “Brighter Smiles Africa” since its inception in 2006. Brighter Similes is working with our Makerere partners and local communities to translate a successful Canadian First Nations health initiative, ‘Brighter Smiles’, into a Ugandan context. The primary goal of the program is to broaden public awareness of public health issues and create health promoting school environments. In December 2007 the BC Children's Foundation and the Centre secured initial start up funding from an anonymous donor for four additional projects through the UBC-Makerere partnership. These include training faculty in problem-based learning, midwifery and nursing faculty capacity building, improving survival of the acutely ill child, and supporting residency training research projects. While not directly connected to the CICH, other UBC affiliated projects include the club foot program under orthopedics, emergency obstetrical care through the BCWHHC, HPV testing with the BCCDC, and strengthening of the family medicine residency program.
The Centre has sponsored a monthly international/local health seminar series which targets health professionals with an interest in global health. This past year, in partnership with McGill University’s Department of Pediatrics, the Don and Liz Hillman lectureship was inaugurated. This includes sponsoring a visiting lecturer each year at one of our partner African institutions and a visiting lecturer alternating each year between the BC Children’s Hospital and the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
It has become not just a Centre for coordination of international projects, but has developed into a Centre for innovation in international health.
All Children Matter