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ExxonMobil Commemorates Africa Malaria Day 2007

ExxonMobil Commemorates Africa Malaria Day 2007

Published 04-25-07

Submitted by ExxonMobil

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25, 2007--In commemoration of Africa Malaria Day 2007 (April 25th), the ExxonMobil Foundation announced today the award of a series of grants, totaling more than $4 million, that will support efforts in Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria to battle malaria and other infectious diseases.

"With a workforce in Africa that numbers in the thousands, and as one of the largest direct foreign investors in the continent, ExxonMobil has witnessed first-hand the devastating impact of malaria and other infectious diseases," said Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM). "We are proud to do our part to help advocate for needed resources, innovative solutions, and a new level of global collaboration to achieve results in the fight against malaria."

These critical grants will support several organizations actively combating malaria and saving lives in Africa today including Safe Blood for Africa, JHPIEGO, Medisend, Africare, Population Services International and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership. Their efforts cover a wide range of tactics in the fight against malaria: training and capacity building; improving accountability in metrics; and providing on-the-ground intervention. A primary goal of ExxonMobil Foundation's Africa Health Initiative is to strengthen the ability of Africans to stop the spread of malaria and treat more effectively the people who are ill with the disease.

Specifically, ExxonMobil Foundation announced the following grants:

  • Safe Blood for Africa to establish a safe blood supply,
    crucial to fighting blood borne diseases in Angola, Equatorial
    Guinea and Nigeria;

  • JHPIEGO to develop programs treating malaria in pregnant women
    in Angola and Nigeria;

  • Medisend to promote capacity building in Angola, Equatorial
    Guinea and Nigeria;

  • Africare to improve community health-based systems, train
    caregivers, and to provide medicines and insecticide-treated
    bed nets in Angola-Kwanza Sul Province;

  • Population Services International to encourage and train
    citizens to use bed nets, provide intermittent medical
    treatment to pregnant women, and to stage on-the-ground
    interventions in Angola;

  • Roll Back Malaria Partnership to assist Angola and Chad in
    their efforts to qualify for Global Fund malaria grants.

Africa Malaria Day marks the anniversary of the signing of the 2000 Abuja Declaration, during which African heads of state committed to reducing malaria-related deaths by half by the end of this decade. That same year, the ExxonMobil Foundation established its Africa Health Initiative, which aims to support disease prevention, control and treatment programs focused on malaria.

Since 2000, ExxonMobil has contributed nearly $100 million to African community projects and is committing an additional $10 million this year to the fight against malaria. ExxonMobil is the largest non-pharmaceutical corporate donor to malaria research and development efforts and the largest corporate donor to the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI).

In addition to its efforts on the African continent, ExxonMobil will participate in a variety of programs spanning the globe on Africa Malaria Day that are designed to bring attention to, mobilize action in, and raise money for the fight against malaria, a disease that kills more than one million people each year, principally pregnant women and children under the age of five.

"Fighting malaria is everyone's business," said Dr. Steven Phillips, ExxonMobil's Medical Director, Global Issues and Projects. "Through our global advocacy, R&D, and malaria control projects, ExxonMobil is applying our core business capabilities to harness the power of partnerships to save lives."

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of the Exxon Mobil Corporation in the United States. The Foundation and the Corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities that advance education, health and science in the communities where ExxonMobil has significant operations. In the United States, ExxonMobil supports initiatives to improve math and science education at the K-12 and higher education levels. Globally, ExxonMobil provides funding to improve basic education and combat malaria and other infectious diseases in developing countries. In 2006, Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates, and ExxonMobil Foundation provided $139 million in contributions worldwide, with $54 million dedicated to education. Additional information on ExxonMobil's community partnerships and contributions programs is available at www.exxonmobil.com/community.


Copyright Business Wire 2007

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