ExxonMobil contributes $80,000 to children’s healthcare initiatives in Vietnam

Operation Smile Vietnam will receive $30,000 in support of its mission to providing medical evaluation and treatments for children born with facial deformities, and VinaCapital Foundation will receive $50,000, which will support efforts to equip grassroots healthcare centres with modern equipment and provide training for staff to better serve the coastal communities in the the central provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai.

About 120 children who are born with a cleft lip and/or palate will benefit from ExxonMobil’s contribution to Operation Smile Vietnam. All health care services – including consultations, treatments and medication – will be provided free of charge to these children from the northern provinces of Lai Chau, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Hung Yen, Thanh Hoa and Hanoi.

“Throughout our three-decade journey, Operation Smile Vietnam has shared the same dream as thousands of patients and families, medical volunteers and generous donors. That dream is not only to increase the number of cleft correcting surgeries we perform each year, but also to create a world where no child will grow up suffering from cleft conditions,” said Viet Nguyen, country representative of Operation Smile Vietnam and vice president of Operation Smile Asia Pacific. “We are fortunate to have support from ExxonMobil and believe that we can make this dream a reality in Vietnam.”

ExxonMobil is also continuing the support of the VinaCapital Foundation’s Critical Response and Survive to Thrive programmes. Under these programmes, six hospitals in Quang Nam and four hospitals in Quang Ngai will receive medical equipment for improved pediatric care.

“The VinaCapital Foundation is grateful for ExxonMobil’s continued and generous support for pediatric emergency care in central Vietnam,” said Robin King Austin, chief executive officer of VinaCapital Foundation. “ExxonMobil has led the way in Vietnam by supporting this lifesaving programme regionally in the central provinces. The Critical Response and Survive to Thrive programmes have also been adopted by the Ministry of Health – in partnership with VinaCapital Foundation – as a national priority. ExxonMobil’s contributions help save the lives of hundreds of children and adults every day.”

Since 2014, ExxonMobil has contributed $155,000 to enable Operation Smile Vietnam to provide screenings and operations for more than 900 children born with facial deformities and helped change lives of more than 500 underprivileged children and families in Vietnam. ExxonMobil has also contributed a total of $450,000 to VinaCapital Foundation since 2011. More than a million children in Danang, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai have benefited from the Critical Response and Survive to Thrive programmes.

“One of the key priorities in our community development programmes is to improve the healthcare standards for Vietnamese children as they are the pillars of the future,” said Greg Smith, president and lead country manager of ExxonMobil in Vietnam. “ExxonMobil has operated in Vietnam for more than 100 years, and we are proud to continue our support for local communities in Vietnam.”

ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Vietnam Limited, an affiliate of ExxonMobil Corporation, is contributing to energy supplies by exploring for oil and gas resources in Vietnam. The company is currently in ongoing discussions with PetroVietnam and Vietnam government agencies and businesses to evaluate the feasibility of developing central Vietnam’s Ca Voi Xanh natural gas resources offshore the coast of Danang.