Kia Motors donates mobile clinic in Ethiopia

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Michael Choo (  mjc@kia.co.kr),
International Communications Manager, Kia Motors Corporation, Tel:
+82-2-3464-5663

Kia Motors donates mobile clinic in Ethiopia

-         Pregnancy related problems account for 13.8% of in-patient
mortality among women of child bearing age in Ethiopia

 

(SEOUL) January 19, 2009 - Kia Motors announced today the donation of a
mobile clinic in Ethiopia, one of the world's least developed countries, as
a means to help improve maternal and infant health. According to current
Ethiopian health data, pregnancy related problems account for 13.8% of
in-patient mortality among women of child bearing age.

 

The philanthropic donation is part of Kia Motors' "Moving the World
Together" CSR initiative.  The specialized and equipped mobile clinic is
fully funded by Kia Motors. 

 

Mr. Hyoung-Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President & COO of the
International Business Division, said, "This is a meaningful and important
project for Kia Motors. Ethiopia has a high infant and maternal mortality
rate, and we believe that this mobile clinic will provide necessary medical
care to those in hard-to-reach areas of the country."

 

The Kia mobile clinic is constructed to provide prenatal care, postpartum
care, gynecological examinations and child immunizations. The inside of the
clinic is divided into a delivery and gynecological examination room, an
ultrasound /ECG/ and vaccination room, and a patient consultation room.
Equipped with everything from an incubator to a fetal heart monitor to
infant delivery instruments, this mobile clinic ensures proper care for both
mothers and infants. 

 

Kia Motors' "Moving the World Together" CSR initiative is comprised of four
programs themed around the facilitation of mobility and, thereby, improving
society: Easy Move; Safe Move; Green Move; and Happy Move. Easy Move focuses
on providing vehicles for the physically challenged; Safe Move provides
vehicles that ensure safer mobility; Green Move supplies vehicles that
encourage environmental sustainability; and finally, Happy Move supplies
vehicles that enable community service through volunteering.  The mobile
clinic is specifically part of Kia's Safe Move platform.

 

Ethiopia's Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is estimated at 871 per 100,000
live births, while the infant mortality rate in 2008 was 90.24 per 1,000
live births. 

 

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Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.com) -- a maker of quality vehicles for the
young-at-heart -- was founded in 1944 and is Korea's oldest manufacturer of
motor vehicles. As part of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, Kia aims to
become one of the world's premier automotive brands. Nearly 1.5 million
vehicles a year are produced in 13 manufacturing and assembly operations in
eight countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of
distributors and dealers covering 172 countries. Kia today has over 40,000
employees worldwide and annual revenues of over US$14.5 billion. It is the
major sponsor of the Australian Open and an official automotive partner of
FIFA -- the governing body of the FIFA World Cup -- as well as a EUROTOP
partner of UEFA. Kia Motors Corporation's brand slogan -- "The Power to
Surprise" -- represents the company's global commitment to surpassing
customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation.