Centre for Global Child Health

Global child health is the health and well-being of children everywhere, independent of geographic borders. SickKids Centre for Global Child Health provides a dedicated hub for global child health-focused activities and connects researchers and health-care professionals around the world.

The Centre is dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families in resource-poor environments through collaboration in ground-breaking research, sustainable capacity building through education, and by informing policy through the active use of advocacy, knowledge synthesis and knowledge translation.

We're proud to endorse the United Nations’ Every Woman, Every Child Global Strategy, and to be a part of Canada’s contribution to improving the health and rights of women and children around the world. As one of the world’s top paediatric health-care institutions and Canada’s leading centre dedicated to advancing children’s health, SickKids is in a unique position to make an impact on a global level.

Centre leadership

Dr. Shaun K. Morris, Clinician-Scientist in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Scientist in Child Health Evaluative Sciences at SickKids and Dr. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, Inaugural Robert Harding Chair in Global Child Health at SickKids are Co-Directors of the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health. Dr. Morris provides oversight for all Centre activities and Dr. Bhutta directs research activities for the Centre. Both Dr. Morris and Bhutta are world-renowned experts in maternal, newborn and child health. Brian Smith directs the Centre’s capacity building activities. 

We share SickKids' vision: Healthier Children. A Better World.

Our mission is to directly and indirectly improve the lives of children and their families in resource poor environments through collaboration in ground-breaking research, sustainable capacity building through education, and by informing policy through the active use of advocacy, knowledge synthesis and knowledge translation.

Strategic objectives

1. Foster an environment to support focused research and communicate the findings through channels that inform the global evidence base and development agenda.
2. Improve health systems through the development and delivery of targeted capacity building through education programs where there is a clear match between local needs and SickKids expertise.
3. Act as an academic partner to external organizations to advise on interventions, implementation design and monitoring and evaluation.
4. Advocate for improved global child health and identify areas for growth that leverage existing strengths through strategic partnership and collaboration.

We are committed to gender equality.

In 2021, the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health launched the ‘Gender Equality Framework’. The Framework was created in line with the Centre’s role as an active member of the Canadian and global health community, and reconfirmed the Centre’s commitment to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion.

The Framework includes a set of commitments, actions and measures that will be used to set targets and monitor progress. Using this Framework as a guide, the Centre will support the advancement of gender equality both within and outside of our organization. Read the full ‘Gender Equality Framework’ (PDF). 

Contact us

For questions or more information about the Centre, please email us at globalchild.health@sickkids.ca, and follow us on Twitter @SickKidsGlobal and LinkedIn.

Address

Centre for Global Child Health 
The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) 
525 University Avenue, Suite 702 
Toronto, ON, M5G 2L3