Elanco, Heifer International 10-Year Effort Breaks the Cycle of Hunger for 160,000 Families

GREENFIELD, Ind., May 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), and Heifer International mark a 10-year milestone in their journey that shares the upcoming World Hunger Day mission – empowering  people to create a food secure world. Since 2008, Elanco and its employees have joined forces to give nearly $5 million to Heifer International's efforts to achieve food security across the globe.

Through eight projects, Elanco and Heifer International have created more access to meat, milk and eggs through placing 35,600 animals, including cows, swine, poultry, goats, sheep and chickens in Zambia, Cambodia, India, China, Ecuador and Bangladesh. In addition to animals, the partnership has provided more than 10,000 hours of training to help farmers improve animal care practices, improve family nutrition, strengthen communities and better protect natural resources. The result: more than 160,000 families in emerging regions are more food secure.

"Increasing the availability and quality of nutrition – particularly protein – is essential, especially in areas with the greatest need," said Pierre Ferrari, Heifer International CEO. "World Hunger Day gives us a chance to pause and reflect on the progress we've made with Elanco to date, but we must drive toward new opportunities to continue empowering people toward food security."

The Elanco and Heifer International relationship aligns with Elanco's vision of the power food has to enrich lives and Elanco's commitment to shared value.

"We've seen the difference giving livestock makes in the lives of families," said Jeff Simmons, president Elanco. "Access to innovation and training for farmers in emerging countries makes real, sustainable change. One farmer, one animal at a time, we have transformed communities' nutrition and health, while reducing poverty and restoring human dignity."

Tangible Impact Enriching Lives 
The impact of the work Elanco and Heifer International have done together goes far beyond just providing food to families in need. The Elanco-supported projects focus on building sustainable, lasting progress toward food security, often empowering women and other underserved populations.

In Zambia, for example, the Elanco and Heifer International project has shown the gift of livestock improves food security, adds protein and diversity to the diet, increases income and reduces the potential of poverty for participating families. The project introduced goats, cattle and dairy cows into a livestock-scarce region of the country.

The project participants realized:

• a 200 to 800 percent increase in income from animal products.
• a 20 percent increase in the variety of foods in the diet, which helps improve nutrient adequacy.
• a 12 percent increase in diet diversity for nearby households, even without receiving livestock.
• 85 percent of families investing in children's education vs a baseline of 10 percent.
• original households receiving animals increased their resiliency and were 88 percent less likely than control households to fall into asset poverty.
• among those who received dairy cows, a six liter per week increase in milk consumption.

Over five years of the project, the families involved in the program who are food secure year-round rose from zero to 83 percent.

Creating Economic Development and Sustained Value
Elanco also works with Heifer International and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) program, which is boosting milk yields and incomes of small-scale farmers in Africa to help lift families and communities out of food insecurity and poverty.

EADD trains the 136,000 participating families on dairy husbandry, business practices and operation, and marketing of dairy products, while also creating the needed infrastructure to market more milk. In its first five years, Heifer and its partners developed 27 milk collection hubs, strengthened 10 existing hubs and formed 68 farmer business associations to manage the plants.

"World Hunger Day creates the opportunity to discuss how we end hunger in our lifetime. We have to transition from food relief to food security, and Heifer is a great example of how," Simmons said. "Creating sustained food security must be built on the mindset of investment, not simply donations and grants. When we collaborate across sectors and employ the right training and systems, we can create long-term development and value that can be sustained and replicated for other farms and communities."

Fish to Fight Hunger
Elanco continues to identify opportunities to help farmers improve sustainable food production and advance food security and nutrition. Aquaculture will play a key role in the future, as fish are expected to be among the fastest growing animal protein sources. But with limited natural stocks, farmed fish can be a long-term, sustainable solution.

In recognition of World Hunger Day, Simmons will personally match contributions made to Heifer International between now and June 8. His total goal of $10,000 can break the cycle of hunger for 100 Cambodian families by providing the fish fingerlings, supplies and training to help them establish aquaculture. Follow him @JeffSimmons2050 for more and donate here.

Today, roughly a third of Cambodians live on less than $1.25 a day and experience one of the highest rates of malnutrition in Asia. Fish is their primary source of protein. Providing fish and improving aquaculture practices brings the old saying to life: teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.

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 6,250 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 and EnoughMovement.com.

About Heifer International
Heifer International's mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth. For more than 70 years, we have provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. We currently work in more than 25 countries, including the United States, to help families and communities become self-reliant. Our goal is to help families achieve living incomes, which will allow them to feed their families daily; educate all their children; and have proper housing, water, hygiene and other essential resources. For information, visit Heifer.org, read our blog, follow us on Facebook, on Twitter or call 888.5HUNGER (888.548.6437)

SOURCE Elanco

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