2012 — Number 1 - ExxonMobil

Twelve years. More than $110
million dollars.
That’s the commitment
ExxonMobil and the ExxonMobil
Foundation have made to fight
malaria – one of the world’s
deadliest diseases.
Transmitted by mosquitoes,
the preventable disease can
damage the nervous system, kidneys
and liver. Most of the more
than 650,000 annual malaria
deaths are among children in
Africa under 5 years old.
For the past decade, there’s
been considerable success in the
fight against malaria, with a drop
of more than 25 percent in the
number of global deaths and a
reduction in cases in some countries
of more than 50 percent.
With major operations in
Africa, ExxonMobil is in the fight
for the long term, supporting
numerous initiatives to prevent
and treat the disease. Now that
several promising vaccines are in
13 Story by Tracy Torma
Vaccine may turn tide
in fight against malaria
clinical trials, there is even greater
hope for eradicating this disease.
From business imperative
to social commitment
ExxonMobil’s support has helped
medical partners, international
organizations and local governments
reach more than 66 million
people and distribute 13 million
bed nets, 1.7 million doses
of medication and 878,000
diagnostic kits. In addition, these
groups have trained 116,000
health care workers and counselors
to assist with prevention
and treatment efforts.
“We have funded almost
every element that is important
in this fight – from prevention
programs aimed at controlling
mosquitoes and destroying their
habitats to drug and vaccine
research and raising awareness,”
says Jim Jones, who manages
ExxonMobil’s malaria-related
investments.
ExxonMobil is a leader in the worldwide
effort to combat malaria. A promising
new vaccine could make a difference in
the fight against the disease.
Jones says that when the company
first began heavily investing
in malaria prevention and treatment
in 2000, it had a business
reason to get involved. At the
time, ExxonMobil was developing
its Chad/Cameroon project in the
heart of the continent.
“We wanted to make sure our
employees and contractors were
protected, and our workplace
program became the gold standard
among the private sector.
Because of that, we realized we
had an obligation to extend the
effort beyond the workplace, and
take it into communities in West
Africa where our employees,
contractors and suppliers live
and work.”
A broad approach
The types of programs
ExxonMobil funds are varied.
These include an awareness
campaign on the use of bed
nets in Cameroon, Tanzania and
Senegal featuring local sports
figures and celebrities; a partnership
in Nigeria that supports a
network of 200 doctors; and a
consortium in Angola that trains
community volunteers to educate
mothers about the use of
bed nets and how to recognize
malaria warning signs.
Idol Gives Back, the American
Idol charity television show,
raised money for anti-poverty
projects in the United States and
around the world. ExxonMobil
donated $14 million over a number
of years to Malaria No More
as part of the show. A majority
of the donation helped distribute
hundreds of thousands of bed
nets throughout disease-stricken
communities in Angola.
The funds also supported
an innovative program called
NightWatch, involving TV, radio
and text messages broadcast in
Tanzania, Senegal, Cameroon
and Chad. Renowned artists,