28 September 2015 - ArcelorMittal has been recognised by the Clinton Global Initiative for its swift, collaborative, and effective response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa.

The company was awarded the accolade on 27 September by President Clinton on behalf of the Clinton Global Initiative at its Annual Meeting in New York. The honour formed part of the Clinton Global Citizen Awards, which recognise visionary leadership in solving pressing global challenges.

The award marks ArcelorMittal's leadership in responding to the 2014 outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa, which is now accepted as the most extensive outbreak in the nearly four-decade history of the disease.

Commenting, Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal, Chairman and CEO, ArcelorMittal, said: 'I am very proud of the proactive approach that we took in leading the private sector response to the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, and am delighted this has been recognised with this prestigious award.'

Alan Knight, general manager, corporate responsibility at ArcelorMittal, who accepted the leadership award from President Clinton, said: 'On behalf of ArcelorMittal, it is an honour to be recognised for our role in responding to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. But of course this award cannot be ours alone: it is a testament to the joint work of all Ebola Private Sector Mobilisation Group members. Together, we unlocked the incredible value of partnership and proved that diverse sectors of society can work together to solve the most complex challenges'.

With mining operations in Liberia, ArcelorMittal was at the centre of one of the regions most severely affected by Ebola, but the company resolved to continue business as usual. Working hard to understand the virus and protect its employees, ArcelorMittal hired experts to advise the company, mobilising specialist medical equipment, and putting a management committee, procedures and systems in place.

But ArcelorMittal recognised that the company's response would be more powerful if it was not acting as a lone agent. To that end, ArcelorMittal founded the Ebola Private Sector Mobilisation Group (EPSMG) - initially a platform for sharing information between companies to help combat Ebola, which quickly grew to include international advocacy for a global response to the Ebola outbreak, and the mobilisation of in-country resources to support humanitarian and healthcare first responders. At the peak there were more than 100 companies, and almost 50 public bodies and NGOs, participating in EPSMG from a wide range of sectors and countries.

Want to know more?

- Being clever by being simple: the Ebola Private Sector Mobilisation Group story
- Visit the EPSMG website
- Business in the hot zone: How one global corporation has managed the Ebola epidemic

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