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Fight against Malaria: How ExxonMobil impacts FCT schools, communities

By Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Abuja
16 June 2022   |   9:39 am
The Business and Government Relations Manager, ExxonMobil, Doyin Adelabu, disclosed that over 156,000 residents across 40 secondary schools and 12 communities have benefitted from the Foundation’s outreach against malaria.

The Business and Government Relations Manager, ExxonMobil, Doyin Adelabu, disclosed that over 156,000 residents across 40 secondary schools and 12 communities have benefitted from the Foundation’s outreach against malaria.

Adelabu spoke at the launch of the 2022 Power Forward sessions in Abuja. The event brought together students of five secondary schools who benefited from the basketball clinic, youth mentoring and other outreach activities.

Speaking on the activities of ExxonMobil Foundation in the fight against malaria, Adelabu informed that since the year 2000, the Foundation has donated 15 million bed nets, 4.2 million rapid diagnostic kits, 5.6million doses of anti-malaria treatment, and has also trained over 9,000 health workers while reaching out to over 175 million people across the world.

“The Power Forward pilot project has also rendered support to federal government’s National Malaria Programme advocacy on youth development and public health, through the efforts of ExxonMobil malaria initiative, towards combatting malaria in Nigeria.

“This year marks the 20th anniversary of supporting creative impactful programmes to reduce the burden of malaria in Nigeria. The ExxonMobil Foundation has provided the largest portion of its funding towards malaria programme and has given grants to the total sum of $37.4million.

“These grants represented almost one-quarter of all ExxonMobil Foundation grants for malaria in a distance period. We supported our partners in nearly all aspects of fights against malaria including advocacy efforts, research, provision of prevention and treatment tools, strengthening health infrastructure and supporting the next generations of global health leaders.”

Adelabu said that the Foundation’s philosophy is that a productive, healthy and educated society is a better place to do business.

“We believe that the skills gained by the students will bring about sustainable development in their lives and they will in turn, develop their communities.

She, therefore, commended other ExxonMobil partners in the Power Forward project – PanAfricare and the National Basketball Association (NBA) for their collaborative efforts at impacting the younger generations of Nigerians.

Also speaking, NBA Africa Vice President & Country Head, Gbemisola Abudu, stated that the objective of the programme was to afford young boys and girls the opportunity to learn about the fundamentals of basketball while also equipping them with life skills that can transform their lives.

PanAfricare boss, who informed that the foundation has reached out to about 150,000 students in the last nine years in Abuja assured of expansion of the project across all the states of the federation.

Similarly, PanAfricare Country Director, Dr Patrick Adah stated that basketball has been identified as a veritable tool for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs), adding that the foundation is engaging the game of basketball to attract the youths toward awareness about public health issues.

“You will find malaria champions among them; those who are very knowledgeable about malaria, HIV and public health interventions.

Meanwhile, the Director of, the Federal Capital Territory Secondary Education Board, Mrs. Nanre Emeje, expressed delight that the Power Forward project, which began with five secondary schools has expanded to 21 schools.

“If there was no positive impact, we wouldn’t have given them approval for more schools.

“The students that are prefects today were part of this programme. I am glad to let you know that the boys’ team of basketball in one of our schools are champions. Right now, they won the league in Lagos under the Maltina Championship contest and they will be representing FCT in Lagos at the end of the month. They are students that have been groomed through Power Forward project.

“We are not afraid to grant them more approval. If they want to go into all our schools, we are ready”, she stated.

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