Luanda, Angola – Today the United States Government and ExxonMobil Foundation announced a new partnership through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Reducing Infections through Support and Education II (RISE II) project will allow ExxonMobil Foundation and USAID to expand prevention efforts to reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission in Angola.
Launched in Angola in October 2019, RISE II is implemented by mothers2mothers (m2m), a South Africa based NGO which uses a peer model called Mentor Mothers. Through this approach, the project focuses on comprehensive community and family centered testing and tracing and also offers adherence and retention services. RISE II directly supports the First Lady’s “Born Free to Shine” initiative which aims to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission. m2m works in close partnership with the Angolan Ministry of Health and the Instituto Nacional de Luta Contra o SIDA (INLS) to adapt the Mentor Mother model nationally.
U.S. Ambassador Nina Fite, welcomed this expanded partnership with ExxonMobil in Angola which once again “reaffirms the critical role the private sector plays in achieving an AIDS-free generation.” Andre Kostelnik, General Manager of ExxonMobil in Angola, said “The First Lady’s Born Free to Shine initiative is an urgent call to action that we as a longstanding partner of Angola are keen to support. Through our ExxonMobil Foundation we are very proud to collaborate in the Rise II program with USAID and NGO m2m that play a very important role in helping Angola with the objective of reducing mother to child transmission from 26% to 14% in 2021.”
The U.S. government has made long-standing investments of over half a billion dollars since 2002 and has partnered with the Government of Angola to strengthen the health system. ExxonMobil has been a committed partner in addressing the most pressing health needs in Angola since 2006, with an investment of more than $6.5 million to support the reduction of malaria cases and decrease malaria-related morbidity. Through this strong and now expanded partnership, we will work together to mitigate the effects of HIV to promote stronger communities and healthy Angolan families.
For more information, contact the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy in Luanda through pressluanda@state.gov or call 222-641-000.
