$24.5m world first project an investment in the health of Victorians

Article published \ \ 30 November 2017

Generation Victoria (GenV) aims to invite parents of all babies born in 2020 and 2021 across the state to participate. Together they will create a holistic picture of the health and wellbeing of Victorian children and uncover the causes of a broad range of conditions.

GenV has been made possible through a $24.5m partnership with The Paul Ramsay Foundation over five years.

Paul Ramsay Foundation CEO, Simon Freeman, said the initiative will be significant because of its far-reaching effects and potential to unlock further research.

"We're partnering with GenV to give future researchers a platform and the infrastructure they need to base their research. This means studies will be completed faster and with less cost, translating to better preventions and treatments for all Australians," Mr Freeman said.

"This investment is a great example of how the Foundation's strategy will target systemic change and improvement in population wide health through research in Australia," he said. 

GenV Project Lead, Professor Melissa Wake, said the unique partnership between philanthropy, the Andrews Labor Government, researchers and families was ground breaking.

"It will mean we're able to connect up the fantastic state wide services and data sets in place in Victoria, and in doing so provide improved personalised support, as well as targeted preventions and care for children and families," Dr Wake said.  

"This is the first time this kind of data has been bought together at a state-wide level anywhere in the world. By doing this, we'll be enabling solutions to diverse issues like obesity, allergies, infection, social exclusion, poor mental health and learning and other chronic health conditions," she said.

Victorian Minister for Health, Jill Hennessy, said the Victorian government was supporting GenV as a part of their long-term investment in specialist and community health programs.

"Victoria is a prime location for the project because of its world-renowned medical research facilities and universities," Minister Hennessy said.

Minister Hennessy said the Andrews Labor government is committed to investing in research and will contribute $2m towards the GenV initiative.

"Our focus is on studies like GenV that emphasise prevention as well as treatment to ensure better outcomes for Victorians," she said.

GenV will be led from The Melbourne Children's Campus (Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital and The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics) with a coalition of partners across the health and education sectors.