GREENFIELD, Ind., May 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Elanco Animal
Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), today
announced that it received a grant from the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation to provide sustainable development solutions to
address food insecurity in East African countries. The commitment
will work to improve animal health and productivity in dairy herds
and poultry flocks for smallholder farms in Kenya, Uganda
and Tanzania.
Elanco received the $2.86 million
grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to enable the
registration and distribution of high-quality veterinary products,
in conjunction with training initiatives for smallholder farmers to
assist with improved animal health practices as well as disease
prevention and treatment.
Livestock diseases remain a threat to achieving food security
and are a source of economic losses for people who depend on
livestock for their livelihood. Beatrice
Wanjiku, a smallholder poultry farmer in Thika, Kenya, realizes the challenges of disease
prevalence, noting, "My main challenge has been mycoplasma
(infection), where the birds would develop the condition at three
months (old). This would eventually lead to a drop in
production."
"Elanco is a cause-driven organization and our vision of Food
and Companionship Enriching Life is at the core of why we do
what we do. We are committed to addressing global hunger by
supporting efforts that ensure nutritious food is accessible and
affordable to all. The grant from the foundation will further
advance our vision by improving the lives of smallholder farmers
through sustainable livestock production," said Jeffrey N. Simmons, president, Elanco Animal
Health."
"The more people with whom we can share our knowledge and
expertise and provide access to products, the more impact we can
have on their animals," said Comfort Phiri, Elanco business unit
manager for Sub-Saharan Africa. "Since this education translates
into positive impacts on farmers and their families for many
generations, it's a privilege for me to be on this team and to have
the opportunity to do social good and business good."
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 32
percent of the people in East
Africa are undernourished1 and 40 percent of
those living in sub-Saharan Africa are living on less than
$1.25 per day2. In
East Africa, 18 percent of
children are underweight.3 Through this collaboration,
Elanco intends to apply the learnings from East Africa to other geographies and continue
its leadership in food security efforts.
About Elanco
Elanco provides comprehensive products
and knowledge services to improve animal health and food-animal
production in more than 70 countries around the world. We value
innovation, both in scientific research and daily operations, and
strive to cultivate a collaborative work environment for more than
6,500 employees worldwide. Together with our customers, we are
committed to raising awareness about global food security, and
celebrating and supporting the human-animal bond. Founded in 1954,
Elanco is a division of Eli Lilly and Company. Our worldwide
headquarters and research facilities are located in Greenfield, Indiana. Visit us at
Elanco.com.
1 New M49 country classification adopted by the
UN – a list of countries included is available in Table A1.1 in
Annex and at
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm
2,3 World Food Summit goal: halve, between 1990-92
and 2015, the number of people undernourished.
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SOURCE Elanco