Volunteers support Lilly’s work in reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases in impoverished communities in South Africa

[Oct14]:  20 Eli Lilly employees from Canada, Israel, Germany, Italy, USA, UK, China, Japan, Belgium and Norway spent two-weeks on service assignments in the impoverished communities of Zandspruit in Gauteng and Hobeni in the Eastern Cape during October.  They are part of Lilly’s 2014 Connecting Hearts Abroad global employee volunteer program which aims to make life better for communities in great need, and is currently in its fourth year. 

They form part of a select group of 100 Lilly employees, working in groups of ten and representing more than 30 countries, that have served impoverished and at-risk communities in countries as far afield as Costa Rica, Ghana, India, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, and Thailand.  

On most days, you find these Lilly ambassadors working in finance, global patient safety, manufacturing, medical affairs, quality, sales, research and project management, but for two weeks, they left their homes, families and offices behind to volunteer at the Project Hope clinic in Zandspruit and the Donald Woods Foundation in Hobeni.  There they worked with patients     suffering from non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, providing      education, guidance and support to both patients and healthcare workers with the aim of easing the burden of non-communicable diseases in the communities.   

Connecting programs to deepen impact

This year, Lilly increased the number of Connecting Hearts Abroad ambassadors who volunteered at global health sites associated with the Lilly NCD Partnership in South Africa and India.  Lilly South Africa works closely with Project Hope and the Donald Woods Foundation, both serving impoverished communities, to improve the diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases. Diabetes, along with cardiovascular diseases, cancer and chronic lung diseases, are collectively known as non-communicable diseases, or NCDs, which disproportionately afflict people living in poverty.

The ambassadors focused on furthering the work of the Lilly NCD Partnership by applying their specialised skills in areas such as medical training, diabetes education, data management, project management and communications.  The enhanced integration of these two Lilly programs is based on a successful pilot in South Africa last year. (Learn more about Lilly’s work in Johannesburg through this short video.)

The team of Lilly doctors, pharmacists, diabetes educators, communications and IT specialists and dieticians helped clinic staff with community health screenings, patient education, employee training and operational improvements.

For example, primary healthcare clinics in South Africa generally do not schedule patient appointments. This often leads to long lines and patient wait times. Partnering with HOPE Centre staff, Lilly volunteers developed a new process—including a new appointment system—that has reduced patient wait time from two hours or longer to just 20 minutes. The new system has been well received by patients, clinic staff, and government officials.

“With the help of Lilly’s Connecting Hearts Abroad ambassadors working alongside Project HOPE, the Lilly NCD Partnership has been able to introduce a new approach within the primary healthcare setting in South Africa,” said Beverley Tebogo Mkhabela, program officer for the Lilly NCD Partnership in South Africa. “Through their expertise, empathy, and passion to make life better for the people in these communities, Lilly ambassadors have made a big impact here.”

During their service assignment last May, Connecting Hearts Abroad ambassadors also developed patient education materials to help improve medication compliance among people diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension. Since then, these materials have been translated into local languages. “We have seen an increase in compliance now that patients better understand the impact of not taking their medications as prescribed,” Mkhabela added.

Since the launch of the Connecting Hearts Abroad programme in 2011, more than 600 employees from diverse Lilly operations across the globe have served as Connecting Hearts Abroad ambassadors. By working alongside local partners in some of the world’s most impoverished communities, Lilly ambassadors have the opportunity to view the world through a different lens and apply their energy and passion to help strengthen communities and improve health for people in low- and middle-income countries. Upon their return, ambassadors are required to share their experiences and insights with their colleagues with the goal of making Lilly a better, more globally aware company.

What some of the ambassadors had to say:

“Two weeks is not enough time to meet the needs of patients living in these conditions, but it is heartening to see just how appreciative people are of all support and assistance they receive.  They are so open to our inputs and no matter how small the difference may seem to us, it’s very clear that it makes a big difference to the people on the ground.  Despite their poverty, they live with joy and genuine happiness.  I have yet to experience this anywhere else in the world.  We came here to share our knowledge and skills, but we leave with the most incredible lessons and insights into how we can really make a difference to people in need through our social investments.” Lawrence Vande Vyvere, Canada.

“It’s been an incredible learning opportunity on our side as well.  In particular we were challenged to find adaptations of international solutions that will work in the specific environment and conditions for the local people.  For example, food choices vary dramatically in terms of what is available and what people can afford to buy.  So when you’re working on dietary programmes for people living with diabetes, you need to work this into a programme with local produce that also takes local customs into account.  In everything we did, we were challenged to provide local context and relevance to our solutions, which was both challenging and rewarding at the same time.” Hagar Moav, Israel.

“When you experience the depth of poverty in some of these communities, and that they really often cannot afford to make healthy food choices as part of their disease management, it’s easy to feel as if you’re fighting a losing battle. The point is to stay focused on the end goal of getting people to make the best possible choices out of what they have, reduce as much of their unhealthy habits as possible through education, and show people the hidden ingredients in their food such as salt, fat and sugar.  Consistent, incremental changes can make the world of difference and we found ways of demonstrating this through physical examples and cooking lessons.  In one instance, people were stunned to see just how much sugar goes into a soda – one two-litre bottle contains around 40 cubes of sugar.  By placing that amount of sugar in a bottle, we were able to physically show just how unhealthy their favourite beverage is.It was wonderful to see just how receptive the people are to making positive changes with a little positive guidance.” Valentina Nocchi, Italy and Knut Alexander Sjoetun, Norway.   

“Working on an exercise programme for people who live in cramped conditions with no services, parks or recreation facilities can be challenging, but we found the reception from patients at the Project Hope facility very positive. We developed simple exercise programmes that incorporate walking and other exercises that they can do virtually anywhere.  It was wonderful to see that even after we finished with the exercise classes at the centre, some people stayed behind to carry on.  Sometimes, people just need a door to be opened for them, and they’re more than prepared to walk through on their own.” Oliver Hobuss, Germany and Tricia Reese, USA    

“We worked with the Project Hope staff to improve the quality of their databases and their analytical capabilities. Part of aim was to see how we could make their data processes more user-friendly, and at the same time how to use data outputs more strategically.  This is especially important when you consider that data and reports can heavily influence the clinic’s ability to secure future funding, as well as satisfy the informational requirements of existing funders and stakeholders. It was really gratifying to see how our data management skills could actually make a real difference at a practical level.  So often what we do stays in the realms of offices and boardrooms, but here we got to see the impact on a tangible, human level.” Kendra Royal and Lisa Young, USA.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and http://newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels