Angola and Nigeria
Chevron and its partners – Sonangol, TotalFinaElf, and Agip – joined forces to set up a state-of-the-art blood bank at the Cabinda General Hospital, in Cabinda province – their chief area of operations. Since its inception in 1993, the bank has improved blood-screening services for hepatitis, HIV, malaria, and other infectious diseases. The project provided the bank with new and more reliable analytical equipment and additional training. It scored impressive results in reducing the risk of disease contamination through blood transfusion.
As Angola’s largest private employers and leading oil producers, Chevron and its partners recognized increasing HIV infection rates as a critical health issue for the company, its employees, and the community. Embarking upon a comprehensive HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention program in Cabinda province, they helped create systems for surveillance and monitoring of the infection within the province, initiated assistance for those already infected or at risk, and conducted community awareness training. Meanwhile, inside the company, Chevron treated sexually transmitted diseases, distributed condoms, and provided training, education, counseling, screening, and support services for employees and their families.
Since 1990, a total of 863 HIV cases have been detected in company medical clients. Between 1988 and 1990, nearly a fourth of all such cases had a history of blood transfusion. As a result, Chevron supported the Provincial Blood Transfusion Service, commenced HIV screening for all donors, and purchased state-of-the-art testing equipment. Since those changes (1992), new HIV cases with a history of blood transfusion have fallen from 24 percent to 1 percent. HIV-positive blood donors fell from 6.4 percent in 1991 to 3.3 percent in 1998.
In Nigeria, the company sponsors a comprehensive AIDS awareness program for employees and community members. Partnering with the International Women’s Media Foundation, ChevronTexaco sponsored the foundation’s HIV/AIDS cyber conference to help female journalists more effectively report on HIV issues. In 1996, the company and its partners created a first-ever program to bring HIV/AIDS and STD education to public schools.