IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

ExxonMobil today said it renewed its support for local and global organizations committed to ending malaria around the world. This year’s grants total $7.36 million and will continue the company’s longstanding commitment to reducing the global burden of malaria, a disease that still leads to an estimated 445,000 deaths annually despite being preventable, treatable and curable.

ExxonMobil’s malaria initiative helps to advance progress against the disease by working with nonprofit partners to build health system capacity, further malaria education, advance research and development, improve access to tools for prevention and treatment and support rising global health leaders.

“Investing in the next generation of leaders is crucial to winning the fight against malaria,” said Kevin Murphy, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. “We recognize the importance of supporting and inspiring young scientists, health workers and decision-makers to drive progress toward ending this deadly disease.”

ExxonMobil works with partners across Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania to advocate for solutions to fight the disease. Planned activities and public events to recognize World Malaria Day include voluntary testing and counseling sessions, mosquito net distribution, community clean-up campaigns, school engagements and public awareness campaigns in ExxonMobil affiliates around the world.

Since 2000, ExxonMobil has partnered with the world’s leading global health organizations to reach more than 125 million people with the tools and training they need to fight malaria. ExxonMobil has invested a total of $170 million in malaria programs, supporting the delivery of 14.4 million bed nets to prevent mosquito bites, the administration of 4.7 million antimalarial treatments and the distribution of over 3 million rapid diagnostic kits. The company has also supported the training of nearly 650,000 health workers.

Atai Okokon, an alumna of the ExxonMobil Global Health Scholar program at the University of Oxford, has benefited from ExxonMobil’s programs and is using her training to combat the disease back home in Nigeria.

“I decided to pursue a degree in global health because I wanted to be a leader and change the world,” she said. “As a pharmacist and a public health advocate, I use the knowledge that I gained at Oxford to defeat malaria in Nigeria.”

2018 grant recipients include:

• ExxonMobil Global Health Scholars at the University of Oxford, to train emerging young leaders in a global health-focused graduate studies program.
• Global Health Corps, to provide opportunities for young professionals to work on the front lines of global health in skills-based, yearlong fellowships.
• Grassroot Soccer, to use the convening power of soccer to increase awareness of malaria and HIV/AIDS among young people across Africa through sports curriculum.
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to advance scientific knowledge and understanding to advance progress toward the eradication of malaria.
• Seed Global Health, to strengthen health education and delivery by meeting long-term health care human resource needs in countries facing a dire shortage of health professionals.

ADPP Angola, Africare, Baylor University, CDC Foundation, Friends of the Global Fight, Jhpiego, Malaria No More, Medicines for Malaria Venture, PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, Population Services International, President’s Malaria Initiative, Special Olympics, and the Worldwide Antimalarial Resistance Network also received grants for 2018.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is one of the largest refiners and marketers of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world. For more information, visit www.exxonmobil.com or follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/exxonmobil.

About the ExxonMobil Foundation

The ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in the United States. The foundation and corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities that advance education, promote women as catalysts for economic development and combat malaria. In the United States, ExxonMobil supports initiatives to improve math and science education at the K-12 and higher education levels. In 2016, the ExxonMobil Foundation together with Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates along with employees and retirees, provided $242 million in contributions worldwide.

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