Making more health through animal health

It aims to build a world with a greater access to health for people, animals and their communities by fostering and supporting an ecosystem of social entrepreneurial solutions for complex health challenges. There are many benefits of including animal health related topics in the MMH initiative - because if animals are healthy, humans are healthier too.

Human disease prevention is one of the biggest issues the world is facing today and will face in the future. Currently, 60% of human diseases originate in animals. For example, rabies is a wildlife disease transmitted to humans by infected dogs which kills an average of 60,000 people every year, mainly in Asia and Africa. The most efficient way to control and eradicate the disease is to vaccinate dogs. Rabies needs to be recognized as a priority disease for governments in the affected areas, with adequate resources and actions dedicated to its eradication. This is typically the kind of issue that MMH's social entrepreneurs could help Animal Health experts with.

In addition, small-scale farmers in developing countries rely on their livestock for income and food. In Sub-Saharan Africa, livestock can represent 50% to 80% of the farmers’ income. "Improving the health of livestock in emerging countries makes a big difference. Ensuring milk, egg and meat production enables families to gain financial assets and to access proteins – which in some cases can be vital for raising their children," emphasizes Jacques Bonin, Head of Veterinary Public Health (VPH), Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Business Unit.  In this context, a team of managers from the Animal Health Business Unit participated in this pilot project: ‘Making More Health in Action week’ in the rural areas close to Coimbatore, South India.

Last but not least, the mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and their pets, and animal-assisted therapies, have demonstrated their effect in preventing health issues such as cardiovascular diseases, but also in terms of disease detection. It is proven that cats can help reduce stress and lower blood pressure, particularly with the elderly. They are sometimes lonely and need to do more exercise - animals can really make a difference.

Most of MMH's activities can facilitate access to animal healthcare, and through collaboration with social entrepreneurs and NGOs, MMH specialists can be of considerable assistance particularly in developing countries where access to healthcare barriers are a reality.

Did you know?*

• 61% of animal diseases are zoonotic, meaning that they have the potential to cause human pandemics
• The vast majority of human rabies cases – as high as 99% – occur in the developing world, mostly in Africa and Asia
• Globally, some 55,000 people die every year as a result of rabies
• 1 million cattle die of rabies in Central and South America each year
• Foot-and-mouth disease in the UK in 2001 resulted in the slaughter of over 6 million animals

*Oxford Analytica 2012