SUCCESS STORIES
 PRIVATE SECTOR: Preventing Malaria Through Expanded Use of Insecticide-Treated Nets
PROBLEM:
Since 2000, ExxonMobil's Africa Health Initiative has applied its business expertise to support a comprehensive response to combating the malaria epidemic, including the research and development of new tools to fight the disease; advocacy of increased international awareness and resources; and onthe- ground community projects to promote malaria prevention, education, and treatment.
Through all of our work, it is apparent that the greatest challenges in the fight against malaria are the need to outsmart the disease by developing new and better preventive technologies and the expanded access to new tools. These technologies include drugs that will overcome resistance, a vaccine to prevent infection, and long-lasting insecticide treated bednets (LLINs)— all of which must be made available to those who need them most.
SOLUTIONS:
One of the simplest and most cost-effective means of malaria prevention in Africa today are LLINs, which protect people from mosquito bites. These bednets are infused with an insecticide that maintains effectiveness for five years; traditional polyester bednets, meanwhile, require fresh insecticide treatments every six months — which in practice seldom occurs.
Through public-private partnerships with organizations that are leaders in the fight against malaria, ExxonMobil — one of the largest private direct foreign investors in Africa — uses its engineering and business expertise to advance the production and distribution of LLINs to thousands of households in Africa.
As part of an innovative partnership comprised of the Acumen Fund, A to Z Textile Mills, Sumitomo, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization, ExxonMobil provided polyethylene, project management support and technical assistance to the first-ever LLIN manufacturing facility established in Africa. Due to the partners' contributions, the capacity of the manufacturing plant, which is operated by A to Z in Tanzania, is expected to exceed 7 million bednets a year by the end of 2006, compared with initial capacity of 400,000 a year in November 2004. ExxonMobil also advised A to Z on strategies to hold down production costs and to improve marketability with a broad selection of bednet colors.
In addition to helping increase the production of LLINs, ExxonMobil also works to ensure that bednets reach and are used by households that need them most. ExxonMobil helped UNICEF procure A to Z bednets for distribution in Cameroon and provided funds for bednet distribution in the community surrounding the plant in Tanzania.
In 2003, the ExxonMobil Africa Fuels Marketing Group teamed up with NetMark to develop the "Help Us Help" campaign that involved 410 of the Company's retail service station stations to provide bednets and related health education information in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia.
Coupons that could be used at Mobil service stations to purchase discounted insecticide treated bednets were distributed at nearby government health clinics and community antenatal clinics. The stations also donated a portion of gasoline sales to provide free bednets for local orphanages.
LESSONS LEARNED:
Monitoring indicates that some 80% of the coupons distributed in Zambia and Ghana were ultimately redeemed for bednets, indicating measurable success of this approach in getting nets to people who need them.
The partnership with NetMark showed that it was possible for ExxonMobil to use its business expertise to develop a sustainable commercial market for insecticide-treated bednets while delivering free or subsidized products to the most vulnerable populations. The remarkable success of these partnerships is a solid testament to the potential attributes of combined social responsibility efforts in developing countries.
The lesson learned through these partnerships is that the private sector has a pivotal role in combating malaria; more than making grants, corporations can, and must, apply what they do best to the fight against infectious disease.
Contact for further details:
Steven Phillips, MD, MPH
Medical Director, Global Issues and Projects
Steven.c.phillips@exxonmobil.com
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