Exxon Mobil Corporation Commemorates World AIDS Day and Honors Global Efforts to Combat HIV/AIDS

Exxon Mobil Corporation Commemorates World AIDS Day and Honors Global Efforts to Combat HIV/AIDS

Business Wire - December 1, 2006

DALLAS -- Today, on World AIDS Day Exxon Mobil Corporation honors efforts to combat the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to the latest figures from UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, an estimated 39.5 million people are living with HIV and there were 4.3 million new HIV infections in 2006. In 2006, 2.9 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses.

"As the epidemic continues to devastate families, communities and economies around the world, it is more important than ever that the public and private sectors work together to fight HIV/AIDS," said Dr. Steven Phillips, Medical Director, Global Issues and Projects.

In 2004, ExxonMobil initiated a voluntary comprehensive workplace program known as StopAIDS to address the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa and its impact on our workforce. Employees in five sub-Saharan Africa countries participate in the StopAIDS program, which aims to keep healthy workers disease-free and help HIV positive workers to live safely with the illness.

Key elements of ExxonMobil's StopAIDS program include:

-- Workplace HIV prevention education to help mitigate HIV/AIDS risks by changing behavior and attitudes.

-- Program delivery by trained peer educators.

-- Voluntary access to community-based confidential counseling and testing.

-- Access to community-based equitable HIV/AIDS care and treatment via company-sponsored health plans.

-- Programs to strengthen and develop local health care capacity.

-- Measurement of program impact by baseline and follow-up Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) Surveys.

"We applaud the efforts of our National StopAIDS Coordinators, their Committees, and Peer Educators, who have ensured the program implementation in all our Sub-Saharan African operations and sites," said Sunday Essien, StopAIDS Africa Program Manager.

In addition to StopAIDS, the ExxonMobil Foundation partners with the Academic Alliance Foundation, Safe Blood for Africa, Global Business Coalition, JHPIEGO, and Population Services International to provide workplace HIV prevention education, build local health care capacity in communities in Africa, provide safe blood transfusion to prevent the transmission of HIV and facilitate the development of public-private partnerships to combat HIV/AIDS.

"The theme of World AIDS Day this year is 'accountability' and, as a responsible neighbor and employer, ExxonMobil is committed to playing a role in combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic," Phillips said. "Through our programs we strive to improve the well-being of our employees and the communities in which they live."

For more information on ExxonMobil Foundation's HIV/AIDS programs, visit www.exxonmobil.com

CONTACT: for Exxon Mobil Corporation

David Gardner, 972-444-1108

SOURCE: Exxon Mobil Corporation
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