Exxon Mobil Foundation Makes $50,000 Gift to Keep Communities Safe from Malaria

In December 2002, nearly eight million children were vaccinated against measles, and more than 11,000 lives were saved. The campaign was one of nine that took place in Africa last year as part of the Measles Initiative, an American Red Cross led program to eliminate the highly contagious and deadly disease.

However, while measles is the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death for children, another disease, one that has no vaccine, claims even more lives in Africa - malaria. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria causes more deaths annually, particularly among children under the age of five, than AIDS, malnutrition, tuberculosis or measles.

To help fight malaria, Exxon Mobil contributed $50,000 to the Ghana measles campaign to help fund a pilot project to simultaneously distribute insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) that hang over beds for protection against malaria-carrying mosquitoes. "Malaria doesn't respect fence lines," said Dr. Steven Phillips, International Medical Director for Exxon Mobil Corporation. "By supporting the Ghana campaign, we can play a positive role helping to fight the top two killers of children in Africa."

A significant part of Exxon Mobil's workforce, some 5,000 employees, is located in 40 African countries. "Many of our employees live and work in malaria endemic regions. We have a responsibility to employee health and have internal measures to help keep our employees and our community safe," said Phillips.

Exxon Mobil's gift, along with support from the Ghana Rotary Club, Rotarians Against Malaria, World Bank, and the Ghana Red Cross Society allowed every parent who accompanied a child under five years old to the vaccination post in Lawra District, one of the poorest districts of Africa, to receive an ITN free of charge.

"Insecticide-treated bed nets are the only way demonstrated by clinical trial to be effective in preventing malaria," said Dr. Mark Grabowsky, senior technical advisor for the American Red Cross. Prior to distribution, 7.3% of families had an ITN compared to 80.1% post-distribution. More than 14,000 ITNs were distributed in one week.

The Ghana campaign appealed to Exxon Mobil because they could contribute to something specific and they could support the research and application of a pilot project, taking part in the baseline information gathering needed to help save lives. More than three years ago, Exxon Mobil made a commitment to help fight the malaria epidemic in Africa and started to work with WHO, universities, drug developers and other groups to make a difference in their communities. They looked at the whole spectrum of malaria and how to work with these organizations to help them get their jobs done.

Exxon Mobil has been a long-time supporter of American Red Cross domestic and international relief programs. "We are concerned about the health of our workforce and with community health in general. This partnership was an extension of our current health program," said Phillips.

The Ghana campaign and all others like it in Sub-Saharan Africa are part of the Measles Initiative to reduce measles mortality in Africa. American Red Cross leads the fight against measles with UN Foundation, CDC, UNICEF and WHO as well as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and governments and countries affected by measles.

For more information about the Ghana vaccination campaign, visit http://www.measlesinitiative.org/ghanaa.asp.

For more information on Exxon Mobil visit http://exxonmobil.com.