Today we celebrate an occasion near and dear to our hearts, National Child Day.

Canada has celebrated this day for more than 15 years to honour the adoption of two documents that focus on children’s rights: The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Children (November 20, 1959) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (November 20, 1989).

Some of these rights include: the right to health care; the right to be protected from harm; the right to freedom from discrimination; the right to an education.

While these rights may seem innate to us, there are children around the world who have never had these privileges.

To underscore the occasion, The Hospital for Sick Children held a panel discussion entitled Health Equity from the Start. Some of the best minds in children’s health care joined together to stress the impact of early education, early development and child health equity beginning at an early age while the mind is in development.

In addition, HealthyKids International, a SickKids Foundation initiative, announced its campaign to raise more than $700,000 to fund the SickKids Global Child Health Program in Ghana, Tanzania and Ethiopia.

This commitment followed a significant funding announcement of $2.4 million to the SickKids Global Child Health Program by the Ministry of International Cooperation, which oversees the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation for the Government of Canada, made the announcement at SickKids this morning.

The SickKids Global Child Health Program addresses priority needs in education, research and clinical care internationally.