Cargill to help Notre Dame program in Haiti

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Agribusiness company Cargill is expanding its partnership with the Notre Dame Haiti Program to try to eliminate lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, in the Caribbean nation.

Cargill has said it will spend $150,000 over the next three years to help the program establish a sustainable salt-fortification venture. In addition to Cargill’s three-year monetary contribution, a number of current and former Cargill Salt employees will help to develop the production of salt in Haiti. Experts say the disease can be eliminated through a mass drug administration and the distribution of fortified salt.

The mosquito-borne disease affects more than 2 million Haitians and is the second leading cause of long-term disfigurement and disability worldwide.

The Notre Dame Haiti Program was started in 1993 and seeks to eliminate the disease by 2020.