£25 million gift to build world-leading London child health centre

Published on 15-08-2018 at 12:15

A cutting-edge centre for children’s health and wellbeing will be established in London’s White City district thanks to a £25 million gift from an esteemed local university alumni.

Marit Mohn is a science graduate of Imperial College London, widely regarded as one of the world’s finest scientific institutions. Mohn, a Norwegian who is a chartered engineer and solicitor, has also become a well known philanthropist, having given much of her wealth to good causes.

It is her name which will adorn the Mohn Centre for Children’s Health and Wellbeing at the university’s School of Public Health, a new hub for health research, education and community interaction. It will be established on the premise that all children deserve the best chances in life. By preventing chronic disease and infection in the early years of life, Imperial can ensure that future generations have every opportunity to thrive and succeed.

Pioneering

Thanks to Mohn’s donation, the centre will support pioneering research, education, and community engagement that will improve the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of childhood illness both locally and globally.

It’s centrepiece will be a cohort study that follows a group of children from birth into adulthood and old age. By monitoring the health and lifestyle of participants over many years, Imperial College aims to better understand of childhood illness, and how disease in old age is connected to early-life experiences. This will also provide an unparalelled insight into the health of children and young people in White City.

It’s also the hope that the centre will shape interventions that have a direct impact on the health of local young people. Local organisations such as the NHS, councils, schools, voluntary organisations and mental health and wellbeing services will all benefit from and add to the college’s expertise, to develop integrated approaches to improving child health and wellbeing in the district and beyond.

Grateful

Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London, said:“We are profoundly grateful to Marit Mohn for this generous gift, which provides an unprecedented opportunity to transform the health and wellbeing of children in London and throughout the world. Marit is a talented and far-sighted philanthropist and it is a privilege to work with her to realise this vision.

“At White City, we are connecting our world leading academic expertise with the community on our doorstep. Through the Mohn Centre for Children’s Health and Wellbeing, we will learn directly from local children and their families about their health needs, and develop solutions that will have a major impact on child health and wellbeing. The benefits will be felt locally, nationally, and across the world.”

Inspirational

Marit Mohn said: “Imperial’s academic excellence and ambition for White City is inspirational – and I am pleased to play a part in it. While rooted in the local community, this new centre will drive discoveries and improve global understanding of childhood disease. We have the opportunity to change the lives of local young people in a way that will be felt for generations to come.”