A $6 million commitment from Wesfarmers to Telethon will fund vital research to reduce the impact of chronic ear infections and other serious diseases.
This new funding follows a $5 million foundation grant to set up the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at Perth’s The Kids Research Institute Australia in 2014, and supports its vision to give all children a healthier start to life through the elimination of infectious diseases.
Otitis media, commonly referred to as ear infection or glue ear, is an all too familiar problem for thousands of WA families. It affects 650,000 Australian children each year, and Aboriginal children have the highest documented rates of chronic ear infections in the world.
Dr Tom Snelling, Director of the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, said that while glue ear is rarely a cause of death, it’s an important cause of disability and key developments in this area have the potential to impact millions of children around the world.
“When kids can’t hear properly, they don’t learn properly, and because they don’t learn properly, they suffer long-lasting effects on their speech development, education, social relationships, employment and other future endeavors,” he said.
“This funding from Wesfarmers allows us to lead the way in this field, with a dedicated Ear Health team working on world-first clinical trials to prevent and treat ear infections.
“Our researchers are also working in partnership with Aboriginal communities here in Perth to empower families to know more about improving ear health and reducing the barriers to accessing quality care, as part of the Urban Aboriginal Ear Health program.”
In addition to major inroads in ear health, the support from Wesfarmers has also led to exciting progress towards elimination of rheumatic heart disease by tackling group A streptococcus, as well as the evaluation of new vaccines for influenza, meningococcal disease and whooping cough.
Wesfarmers Managing Director, Mr Richard Goyder, said he believes that investing in innovation will have lasting benefits for future generations, and the success of the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases has already started to make a big difference to the community.
“Fostering a vibrant, world-class community of researchers, based right here in Perth, is important. Along with a number of significant achievements, the team at the Wesfarmers Centre has been able to leverage our funding to secure additional research capital.
“Seeing our initial contribution grow, therefore widening its impact and reach into the community, was very important to us and we are proud to help build Perth as a major Australian and global centre of children’s infectious diseases research,” said Mr Goyder.
For more information about the key research areas of the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, please visit https://vaccine.telethonkids.org.au/
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