Africa Health Initiative

ExxonMobil has had a presence in Africa for over 100 years and we have felt firsthand the devastating human toll malaria has on communities. Improving health is also a necessary foundation for economic growth and development, and contributes to a stable and productive workforce.

Since the inception of the Africa Health Initiative in 2000, we have committed over $50 million to support efforts to fight malaria through disease prevention, control and treatment programs. In 2008, we awarded $14 million in grants to support projects such as NetsforLife. Building on the success of NetsforLife in Angola, ExxonMobil supported the program’s expansion to fight malaria in Nigeria, in 2008. The distribution of long-lasting, insecticide-treated bed nets has provided assistance to nearly 550,000 people in Angolan and Nigerian communities with a high prevalence of reported malaria cases. Research shows that when three-quarters of the people in a community use the nets, the incidence of malaria infection decreases, along with a 90 percent reduction in the actual mosquito population. Through 2008, NetsforLife has distributed 1 million bed nets in 15 African nations and estimates that these bed nets have saved the lives of about 27,000 children.

ExxonMobil: An Active Participant in the Fight Against Malaria
Our support is more than financial. We are actively partnering with governments and agencies in affected countries, empowering them to combat malaria with the same disciplined, results-based business practices that ExxonMobil employs in its global operations.

For example, ExxonMobil is represented on the Board of Malaria No More. Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson co-chairs the Malaria Capital Campaign — a joint initiative of Malaria No More and the Global Business Coalition. The Campaign supports the global malaria action plan established by Roll Back Malaria, which seeks to provide universal coverage through malaria interventions to all African people at risk by 2010. To support partners working to overcome barriers to large-scale deployment of malaria prevention tools, the Campaign also plans to secure $100 million mainly through private sector contributions — including our own three-year, $10 million grant. ExxonMobil funding is being used to improve the delivery and use of prevention tools such as: bed nets; technical assistance to help countries significantly increase their capacity to control malaria; and the monitoring and promotion of progress through integrated communications methods.