CANBERRA, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Australia's federal government on Wednesday announced a 202-million-Australian-dollar (158 million U.S. dollars) investment in medical research, including Australia's number one killer cardiovascular disease, a number of cancers, and mental health.
According to a media release by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the fund includes over 31 million dollars for cancer research, including in areas like melanoma research.
Over 23 million dollars will be invested into mental health research, almost 18 million dollars for cardiovascular disease research, 6 million dollars for diabetes research and 3.9 million dollars for obesity research.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the money will fund up to 300 medical research projects, which will include youth suicide prevention and childhood cancer research.
"This will fund really fundamental research which will change people's lives," Hunt told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Wednesday.
Also speaking on the investment, Turnbull said that childhood cancer research was often overlooked for more prevalent, deadlier cancers.
"This initiative will bring the latest medical innovations within reach of young people with cancer," he said in a statement on Wednesday. "There is nothing more tragic than childhood cancer."
Meanwhile also speaking on ABC radio, Peter Orchard, the chief executive of youth cancer not-for-profit CanTeen, welcomed the investment in youth cancers, explaining there was currently a gap in research being undertaken for those with childhood cancers who have outgrown children's hospitals.
"(Youths ages between 15 and 24) might have a childhood cancer, and there might be a clinical trial but only in a children's hospital, so they can't be part of that," he said.
