Heifer International Recognizes World AIDS Day

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Dec 1, 2012) – The theme of this year’s World Aids Day is "Working Together for an AIDS-Free Generation" and here at Heifer we join the effort to make this a reality.  Many of Heifer International’s projects, from China to Uganda and Kenya to Nepal work directly with those directly suffering from HIV and AIDS  and their family members.

Heifer International’s model of providing livestock and training helps those suffering from AIDS in many ways. Participants are taught environmentally sound agricultural practices integrating livestock and crop production for better nutrition in the form of protein and vitamins to family diets making the medicine more effective. 

Poor nutrition increases the vulnerability to, and the severity of, opportunistic infections. Poor nutrition reduces medication efficacy and adherence, and can accelerate the progression of disease. Heifer projects help in the fight for global health and social development by providing adequate nutrition and balanced diets they will improve and sustain their quality of life.

Through Heifer International, a gift of livestock can provide milk and much needed animal source protein to the diet of those infected, as well as their families. In addition, the sale of excess animal products can provide cash to purchase supplementary food for well-balanced diets and for pertinent medicines.

Involving communities in sustainable agriculture opportunities allows them dignified options for economic growth and survival. Oftentimes, marginalized populations find little option but to migrate to larger cities in search of work, which often increases their vulnerability and exposure to the virus. Heifer International seeks long-term solutions to poverty and its associated problems, confident that healthy and self-sufficient people can create a better world.

About Heifer International:
Heifer International’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth. Since 1944, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in more than 40 countries, including the United States, to help families and communities become more self-reliant. For more information, visit
www.heifer.org, read our blog, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or call (800) 696-1918.