ALMA receives ExxonMobil $250,000 grant to combat malaria

The African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), an alliance of 39 African leaders, announced today that it has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the ExxonMobil Foundation to help with its campaign to combat malaria.

"We are thrilled and grateful to be awarded a grant from the ExxonMobil Foundation, a long-time ally in Africa's efforts to fight malaria," said ALMA Executive Secretary Johannah-Joy Phumaphi. "We have recently seen great success in the fight against malaria and we must all remain steadfast in our efforts."

ALMA, chaired by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and recently elected Deputy Chair, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, was launched in 2009 as a collaborative effort for African leaders to work together with the African Union, United Nations and other local and international partners to combat malaria in Africa. The alliance seeks to complement efforts that address the challenges of malaria and aims to raise malaria awareness at the global, national and local levels.

ExxonMobil's grant will support ALMA's advocacy and communications efforts, as well as technical assistance to governments.

"Through our long history in Africa and in the fight against malaria, ExxonMobil knows that African leadership is a critical component to successfully combating malaria," said Suzanne McCarron, President of the ExxonMobil Foundation. "It is important to support efforts like ALMA's to harness the political will and actions of African leaders to fight a disease that claims hundreds of thousands of young Africans every year."

ExxonMobil and its Foundation have invested millions of dollars in the fight against malaria as part of the ExxonMobil Malaria Initiative, started in 2000. The company is one of the largest corporate donors in efforts to help eradicate malaria. ExxonMobil's funding supports partners that help improve the delivery and use of prevention tools such as insecticide-treated bed nets, and provide technical assistance to help countries significantly increase their capacity to control malaria.

"ExxonMobil stands out as a long time leader in the fight against malaria and we're so pleased to count them among ALMA's inaugural group of partners," said Ray Chambers, the U.N. Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Malaria. "Not only is ExxonMobil making a financial commitment, but they are bringing their business management expertise to the table and a track record of success in helping African nations fight this deadly, but beatable disease."

The past year has seen enormous progress in the battle against malaria in Africa, due in large part to the collaborative work of ALMA, which has been instrumental in accelerating access to and the use of malaria control interventions such as mosquito nets. The World Health Organization's World Malaria Report 2010 reports 80 percent net coverage and an additional 10 percent coverage when indoor spraying is included. Its focus now is to sustain this coverage and to eliminate preventable malaria deaths by 2015.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most affected by malaria in the world, with 90 percent of malaria mortality occurring there. Malaria also accounts for 40 percent of hospital admissions in this region and is a leading cause of workplace and school absenteeism. When accounting for direct costs and lost economic productivity associated with the disease, malaria costs the African economy $12 billion in lost GDP annually.

Source: African Leaders Malaria Alliance