ExxonMobil Announces $2 Million in Grants to Global Health Agencies to Combat Malaria in African Communities

Business Wire,  April 23, 2004  

Tags: Exxon Mobil Corp., malaria

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Energy Editors/Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2004

Malaria Initiative Aids World Health Organization's Goal to Halve

Malaria Cases from 1998 Levels

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) announced today more than $2 million in research and partnership grants to global health organizations to combat malaria in African communities. The grants are to improve treatment, educate citizens, and help prevent the spread of malaria.

Though a curable disease, malaria rates are at an all-time high among the people of Africa, infecting an estimated 300 to 500 million people and causing more than 1 million fatalities annually. The parasitic disease is spread through mosquito bites and has the most severe consequences among pregnant women and children under five years old.

"Long eradicated in most developed countries, malaria in Africa is at an all-time high," said Dr. Steven Phillips, ExxonMobil's Corporate Medical Director, Global Issues and Projects. "ExxonMobil is committed to developing partnerships to combat malaria for the protection of our employees and for the citizens of the communities in which we do business."

"Africa is a significant contributor to the provision of global energy needs, and ExxonMobil maintains operations in 30 African countries," said Harry Longwell, Director and Executive Vice President. "As a partner in the communities in which we operate, ExxonMobil is committed to improving African health care to protect not only our employees and their families from this disease, but also our retailers and customers, and to expand that commitment to local communities."

"By working to improve malaria prevention in these African communities, ExxonMobil can help reverse the downward spiral of disease and poverty and improve the lives of the local community," said Dr. Phillips.

While community education, bednets and medications can be effective in treating the disease, ExxonMobil is working to combat this global health threat through a concert of public-private partnerships to tackle the disease from multiple angles.

Organizations that received malaria-related grants in 2003 for implementation during 2004 include:

-- Academy for Educational Development (AED), to help subsidize

the cost of bednets for pregnant women through the

USAID-funded NetMark Project and ExxonMobil's retail networks

in Ghana and Nigeria;

-- Africare, for malaria prevention and early treatment in

Angola;

-- Alliance pour le Developpement de la Sante, to establish a

reference center for infectious diseases in Chad;

-- American Red Cross, to support Angola Red Cross to distribute

bednets in Angola;

-- Harvard Malaria Initiative, to address the genomics of the

African malaria parasite;

-- Medicines for Malaria Ventures, to support accelerated

development of antimalarial drugs;

-- Population Services International (PSI), to provide bednets to

pregnant women and children under five in Tanzania;

-- Safe Blood for Africa, to help ensure a disease-free blood

supply in Nigeria; and

-- UNICEF, to increase the availability and use of insecticide

treated nets targeting pregnant women and children under five

years of age in Cameroon.

"ExxonMobil is addressing malaria as a global health and economic concern," said Dr. Phillips. "As a leader in the energy industry and partner with local African communities and organizations, ExxonMobil brings its resources to bear to prevent and help control malaria in Africa."

ExxonMobil has long supported programs that address public health issues worldwide, and more recently focused emphasis on combating malaria in Africa. Since 2000, ExxonMobil has given more than $5 million to fund health organizations and programs to fight malaria, including its long-term support of Roll-Back Malaria, Harvard Malaria Initiative and Medical Malaria Ventures.

About ExxonMobil Foundation

ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation in the United States. The Foundation engages in a broad range of philanthropic activities focusing on the communities where Exxon Mobil Corporation has significant operations. In addition, the Foundation supports research and dissemination on selected topics of national interest to the energy industry. Focus areas include education, health and environment. In 2003, ExxonMobil Foundation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, and its divisions and affiliates provided $103 million in contributions worldwide. For more information, please visit www.exxonmobil.com.

For more information about ExxonMobil in Africa, please visit www.exxonmobilafrica.com

ExxonMobil: Combating Malaria in Africa

Background on Malaria:

Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease that is transferred from one person to another through the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria has become a worldwide health crisis.

Each year, malaria claims more than one million lives, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, the region accounts for nine out of every ten cases of the disease. Currently, one-fifth of the world's population is at risk and an estimated 300 - 500 million people are already infected. Most victims are young children who are often unprotected and do not receive medical attention quickly enough to prevent the disease from taking their lives.