A Brief History

In Abuja, Nigeria, in April 2000, African Heads of State signed the Abuja Declaration on Roll Back Malaria in Africa. Among other things they committed themselves to an intensive effort to halve the mortality for Africa's people by 2010.

To support Africa's progress towards these public health goals, ExxonMobil established the Africa Health Initiative to fund and support activities related to the prevention, control and treatment of malaria in Africa. Since then and through year-end 2007, ExxonMobil will have spent more than $40 million to help fund programs to tackle malaria at an individual community level, programs to promote the research and development of new drugs, and projects to advocate for awareness and support internationally.

In 2006, with the support of the ExxonMobil Africa Health Initiative, MVI piloted the first Malaria Vaccine Science and Society Fellowship in Washington, DC, with nine fellows from around the world. The program focused on developing fellows’ communication skills and on introducing them to the U.S. policymaking process.

As a natural follow-up to the first pilot, the June 2007 program, held in Maputo, Mozambique, focused on African researchers; preparing them to interact effectively with key media and policymakers, including bilateral donors.

Known as the Malaria Vaccine Advocacy Fellowship, the 2008 program support ed nine malaria vaccine research and development leaders from sub-Saharan Africa. The program is supported by the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Africa Health Initiative and aims to bridge the worlds of science and policymaking at the national, regional, and international levels.

MVI is grateful to ExxonMobil for its support for the The Malaria Vaccine Advocacy Fellowship. Since 2006, ExxonMobil has made it possible to strengthen the skills of 27 malaria R&D advocates from the US, Europe, and Africa. Click here to read about past fellows.