Supporting Global Livestock Health Through Grants
LifeStock International has received grants and support from organizations focused on improving animal health, food security, veterinary education, and disease prevention around the world. These grants help fund practical field programs, training initiatives, research partnerships, and sustainable livestock health systems that directly impact vulnerable communities.
Grant Funding
Veterinary Training
Partnerships
Healthier Livestock
Stronger Communities
Grant-Funded Programs
LifeStock is dedicated to improving the livelihoods of livestock holders and their communities. Every grant we receive is directed toward meaningful programs that create measurable impact, strengthen livestock health systems, and support the long-term sustainability of agricultural communities.
We remain committed to transparency, accountability, and delivering outcomes that advance our mission while creating lasting benefits for the people and animals we serve.
With an all-volunteer Board of Directors and a dedicated roster of volunteer staff, LifeStock International maximizes its global impact through an efficient organizational structure. Our indirect costs are the lowest allowable (15%), we successfully complete an independent audit each year, and all donated funds directly support our mission across our four focus areas.
USDA-APHIS – Global Partnership for Animal and Zoonotic Disease Surveillance
Funding Organization:
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
LifeStock International serves as the implementing partner for this large program, which funds research and surveillance on transboundary and emerging zoonotic pathogens at laboratories around the world. Each designated laboratory (and there are now ELEVEN!) receives funding to carry out their work. The funding is designed to build capacity with our partners. But also, the partner’s abilities to do the research and investigations where the diseases are already occurring, produces excellent information on how the pathogens behave in the real world. In addition, strains and sequences are shared with USDA-APHIS, to help in our own US preparedness.
To date, the funding received for these efforts has totalled more than $5M.
Please see this page to read about our GPAZDS partners and the papers they have produced:
USDA-APHIS – Oral Fluids Testing in Swine for Early Detection of African Swine Fever
LifeStock was the implementing partner for two large studies on the utility of using oral fluids for detection of ASF in a pen of swine. This program was undertaken with colleagues in the Accra Veterinary Laboratory and the University of Ghana.
Pigs are curious creatures and will chew on anything put in their environment. By placing cotton ropes suspended in the pen, with a plastic container below to catch the saliva, those oral fluids were shown to be positive at the same time as the first pig in the pen became positive for ASF in the blood. This is a tremendous advance for pig farmers to be able to do regular and non-invasive surveillance for this devastating disease.
To read the published article, click below.
USDA-NIFA – Program enhancement of VMLRP and VSGP through increased awareness and targeted support of potential applicants
The USDA has a program to help veterinarians become established in rural areas where animal health care is lacking – Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP). LifeStock served to expand awareness of these programs through meeting with interested students at every veterinary school in the US (there are 32!), and also in helping interested graduates work through the grant application process.
Total Funding to LifeStock, $350,000
US Department of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) – Iraq Field-Level Bio-Surveillance of Especially Dangerous Pathogens (2020-2023)
Over three years, LifeStock partnered with colleagues in the Iraqi and Kurdish Ministries of Agriculture to deliver more than 50 workshops to farmers around the country. Farmers were informed about risks of transboundary animal diseases, and encouraged to report to the government when they occurred. The government can only step in to control these diseases if they know where they are occurring. Reporting from the field increased remarkably by the end of the program.
Total Funding to LifeStock, $1.4M
How Grants Help Communities
Grant funding allows LifeStock International to support veterinary training, livestock disease surveillance, educational outreach, and collaborative animal health initiatives in developing regions.