In the latest entry in his blog about a massive health drive, Steven Phillips tells of us about the unlikely presence of a navy admiral in landlocked Mali.

DAY 5: How the Malaria World Benefits from an Admiral

It's 6 a.m. and my hotel phone wakes me. Just as well, because the malaria prevention medication I have been taking has been causing graphic nightmares. It's a message that Admiral Tim Ziemer, the coordinator for the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), would like me to join him on a field trip today to witness the Mali integrated Child Health Campaign in action. Having traveled with the Admiral previously in Angola - where ExxonMobil's local company is a major PMI supporter - I jump at this opportunity to view the campaign from his official government perspective.

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Steven Phillips tells of the impact that American sports stars have on the campaign to make take life-saving health interventions to the children of Mali.

Day 4: U.S. Sports Stars Suit Up Against Malaria

Ruth Riley led the University of Notre Dame to the women's NCAA Basketball title in 2001. The 6'5" center went on to win Olympic gold with the U.S. women's basketball team in Athens in 2004. More recently she was named MVP in the WNBA finals as she led the Detroit Shock to the WNBA championship in 2003.

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The latest instalment in the reflections of Dr. Steven Phillips, ExxonMobil's Medical Director for Global Issues and Projects, on the huge campaign to reach millions of children and adults in Mali with life-saving health interventions. Click here for the complete series.  

Day 3: "The Power of "Political Will"

Under the merciless rays of an insistent sun which pierces a perennially brown dust-laden sky, we take our positions as international VIPs in a huge dirt schoolyard on the outskirts of Bamako. We are here for the official launch ceremony for the country's integrated health campaign week, and awaiting Mali's president.

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On the second day of a visit to Mali, Dr. Steven Phillips, ExxonMobil's Medical Director for Global Issues and Projects, tells of the logistics of a campaign to get bed nets, which protect people against malaria, to hundreds of thousands of people.

Day 2: From Vietnam to a Mother in Mopti – A Bed Net's Journey to Its Destination

The long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) is one of the main weapons in Africa's arsenal against malaria. Based on the continent's distribution of the disease, the estimated annual need of sub-Saharan Africa's 700 million population is 60-80 million nets. When properly used in sleeping areas, LLIN's could decrease childhood cases and deaths from malaria by at least 50 percent.

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Through this blog, Dr. Steven Phillips, ExxonMobil's Medical Director for Global Issues and Projects, will share his observations from the Republic of Mali, where he is part of the UN Foundation's observation team for the country's largest ever public health event.

From December 13 to 19, Mali is conducting a national integrated child health campaign targeting more than 2.6 million children under five as recipients of five health interventions: measles and polio vaccinations, long-lasting insecticide treated nets, de-worming medication, and vitamin A.

In addition to ExxonMobil, key partners include the Measles Initiative (The United Nations Foundation, WHO, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and the American Red Cross), the Canadian Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies, the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative, USAID, CDC, Malaria No More, Nothing But Nets, Major League Soccer, National Basketball Association, and numerous local non-governmental, faith-based organizations, and Malian government agencies.

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