Government of Canada gives AboutKidsHealth $4.5 million

Over the next three years the government of Canada will be giving a website operated by the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto $4.5 million.

AboutKidsHealth is a website and resource centre that provides parents, children and health care professionals with information about children's health. Launched in 2004 the site has had more than 140,000 visitors a month. Using material geared at different levels the website informs users about health care. "AboutKidsHealth has already proven its value to hundreds of thousands of Canadian parents, young people and health-care professionals," said Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq in a press release Friday. "I am delighted to be making an investment that will allow AboutKidsHealth to continue doing its important work, while growing into a resource that will serve even more Canadians through strategic partnerships with other institutions across the country." The new funding will enable the site to build a national network of partners. The site will also be able to better serve populations in Canada that are the most vulnerable such as aboriginal Canadians. By this summer AboutKidsHealth will be available in English, French and Chinese. There are plans to add Spanish, Arabic, Urdu, Tamil, Portuguese and Punjabi, thanks to a contribution by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.