Africa Health Initiative

woman and child with malaria bed nets

As a major investor in Africa, ExxonMobil recognizes that improving health in Africa is a necessary foundation for economic growth and development, and is critical to achieving the company’s business objectives as well. Our Africa Health Initiative was established to improve the health of people on the African continent. Since we launched the Africa Health Initiative in 2000, we have invested approximately $40 million to support efforts to fight malaria. In 2007, we awarded $12.4 million in grants to support awareness of and access to malaria treatment and prevention options, to promote strategies to build health care capacity at the community level, to fund research and development of new drugs and vaccines, and to improve international advocacy initiatives. For example:

  • Through a strategic partnership with Malaria No More, ExxonMobil contributed $3 million to American Idol’s charitable initiative Idol Gives Back. The initiative provides life-saving bed nets and other critical interventions in the fight against malaria. In 2008, we plan to expand our support of Malaria No More through Idol Gives Back;
  • Africare initiated a community-based malaria project in Kibala, in the Kwanza Sul province of Angola. In partnership with the Ministry of Health and local authorities, the Talanganda health post was constructed in an area without health care to serve 15,000 people from nine surrounding villages. Local health workers, including nurses at the new health post, were trained in the diagnosis and treatment of malaria. They are supervising more than 900 community health volunteers and 50 traditional birth attendants, who are active in promoting awareness of malaria prevention options in 138 local communities; and,
  • MediSend International is supporting the training of technicians from Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria to learn how to maintain medical equipment. This helps build local capacity to ensure that available medical equipment is operational.

According to the Malaria R&D Alliance, the ExxonMobil Foundation is the largest private sector donor — second only to the pharmaceutical industry — to malaria research activities.