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health
Debilitating disease — sometimes preventable disease — sabotages individuals, families and sometimes whole communities. The story does not stop there though; debilitating disease sabotages economic growth in some of the least developed parts of the globe, making poverty an inescapable reality. At ExxonMobil, we know that investing in health means supporting human welfare at its foundation. We support programs that build health care capacity at the community level, promote research and development as well as advocate for awareness and support. In 2007, ExxonMobil worldwide health contributions totaled almost $22.8 million
, with more than $19.8 million benefiting communities outside of the United States.
Through funding from ExxonMobil Foundation, MediSend International provides medical supplies and equipment to places that need it and also trains future technicians in countries that receive medical equipment to keep it running properly.
With a significant presence in Africa, we are keenly aware of the health and economic impacts on our workforce, their families, and the communities where we operate. Over the past seven years, ExxonMobil has worked with a growing number of partners to advance the principles and objectives of the global initiative to Roll Back Malaria. In response to the unanticipated cholera outbreak in Angola last year, we quickly responded with financial and material support.
ExxonMobil established its Africa Health Initiative in 2000 to work with local and international partners to develop effective strategies to prevent, control and treat malaria and other infectious diseases and improve the health of people on the African continent. Since launching the Africa Health Initiative, we have invested approximately $40 million. 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. In addition, we continued funding of innovative bed net distribution programs, including integrating the distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets with measles vaccination campaigns and utilizing our service stations to provide a distribution system for bed net vouchers.
MediSend trains three students from Angola to repair a patient monitor.
In Africa and other parts of the developing world, ExxonMobil is helping support local hospitals and clinics meet the health needs of patients. With Dallas based non-profit partner MediSend International, ExxonMobil provided $900,000 in 2007 to send basic medical equipment to health facilities in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Colombia, Indonesia and Kazakhstan. We are proud of partners like MediSend, which works to positively impact health with sustainability in mind. In 2007, MediSend welcomed eight students from Africa to its onsite training facilities in Dallas, equipping them with the skills to maintain and repair the medical equipment that contributions like ours provide to local clinics.
In the United States, ExxonMobil continues to focus primarily on research-based and educational activities and programs concentrating on respiratory disease and community health.
