CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck More Than a Mother, Dr.Rasha Kelej has recounted her outfit’s impact in the area of healthcare and media capacity across many countries.

She made these remarks at the ongoing 10th Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary happening in India.

The programme was today, Wednesday, October, 18, inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp; Chairman of both the Executive Board of E. Merck KG and Merck Foundation Board of Trustees.

Like the last edition, the 10^th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary is  happening  in a hybrid model to enable more than 6000 participants from more than 70 countries to safely and effectively meet and discuss strategies and solutions for the health challenges in their countries with the aim to contribute to improving access to quality and equitable healthcare solutions and building media capacity and healthcare capacity in many critical and underserved medical fields.

Speaking at the ceremony,the CEO of Merck Foundation, Dr.Rasha Kelej said,  “we commemorate two very important milestones: the 6th Anniversary of the establishment of the Merck Foundation in 2017, and 11th Anniversary of our development initiatives in Africa, Asia, and underserved communities, marking the inception of our programs in 2012.”

She said, since then, they have come a long way together with their partners, and made significant impact by building healthcare and media capacity, breaking infertility stigma, empowering women – childless women in particular, supporting girl education and raising awareness on a wide range of social and health issues.

“ I am proud that have achieved great success, and we are improving and amplifying our efforts, year on year,” she added. 

Dr.Kelej expressed her excitement saying, “I am happy that that our partners, African First Ladies also the Ambassadors of Merck Foundation, are going to share with you all the report of the progress and impact made in their respective countries. I am sure that you all are looking forward to hearing from them their success stories.” 

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are committed from past 11 years, towards healthcare capacity advancement and patient care transformation and reshaping the landscape of the public healthcare sector in 50 countries in Africa, Asia and beyond,” she stressed.

Additionally, she disclosed “I feel proud to share with you all that Merck Foundation has provided more than 1700 scholarships to young doctors from 50 countries in 42 critical and underserved specialities such as; Diabetes, Endocrinology, Oncology, Cardiovascular, Fertility Care, Embryology, Sexual & Reproductive Medicine, Internal Medicine, Respiratory Medicine, Acute Medicine, Critical Care, Paediatric Emergency, Gastroenterology, Rheumatology, Clinical Psychiatry, Urology, Ophthalmology, General Surgery, Trauma & Orthopaedic, Dermatology, Neonatal Care, Pain Management, Emergency & Resuscitation, Laparoscopic Surgical Skills,  Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, Advanced Surgical Practice, Neuroimaging for Research and many more.” 

“It’s worth noting that a substantial number of these scholarships were provided in India by premier institutes providing the best-in-class clinical training like Tata Memorial Centre, Manipal University, Maharashtra University, Krishna University, Indra IVF Training, and others. Consequently, we are delighted to be in India this year to mark a decade of our esteemed partnership with our Indian partners,” she said. 

Dr.Kelej noted that they are making history and legacy in Africa by training the first Fertility specialists, Embryologists, Oncologists, Diabetes, Endocrinology, Respiratory experts and more in many countries like Liberia, The Gambia, Burundi, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Guinea and Ethiopia, Congo and more.

“Together with our partners like Africa’s First Ladies, Ministries of Health, Gender, Education and Communication, Academia, Medical societies, we are impacting the lives of people in the most disadvantaged communities in Africa, Asia and beyond,” she added.

“As you all know, we are also marking the Cancer Awareness Month, by wearing the pink ribbon today. I am proud to share that we have provided 138 scholarships to doctors from 28 countries for Oncology training. Most of these scholarships have been provided in India through our partners – Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai and Varanasi; Krishna World University, Karad; and BBCI, Assam. 

We are proud of it,” she noted. 

The CEO of Merck Foundation further added, apart from healthcare capacity advancement, “we are also working hard to raise awareness on a wide range of sensitive and critical social and health issues like Supporting Girl Education, Ending Child Marriage, Stopping GBV, Breaking Infertility Stigma, Ending FGM, Women Empowerment, Diabetes Awareness, and Hypertension Awareness; through our various initiatives like Health Media Training, our 8 important awards for media, fashion designers, filmmakers and singers, songs, children storybook and also animation movies.”

“Today we are going to play for you all “Sugar Free Jude”, the first animation film that addresses diabetes prevention and early detection in Africa. This is another huge step of ours towards using art and creativity to address different sensitive health and social issues in Africa. I urge you all to share this film on your social media, TV stations and websites of hospitals, clinics, schools and clubs to support our efforts in fighting diabetes in Africa every day,”She added.

According to her “Sugar Free Jude” is of course one of the series of 7 Animation films her outfit is releasing, on various topics like Hypertension Awareness, Supporting Girl Education, Ending GBV and Child Marriage and more.

These animation films are aimed at communicating important messages, not only to children but also to adults, in a very entertaining way.

“We also launched our first TV program – ‘Our Africa by Merck Foundation’, to be the voice of the voiceless and break the silence about many critical and sensitive social and health issues in Africa. This unique program addresses various social and health issues relevant to Africa through our African Community of Fashion and Art with Purpose. The program has been and is still being broadcast on leading TV Stations of many countries. I invite you all to watch our program on our social media, She added.

She further emphasised that “as you all would agree Educating Girls offers numerous benefits to a country’s development and progress. When girls receive quality education, it empowers them with knowledge, skills, and opportunities, enabling them to make informed choices about their lives.

“This, in turn, leads to improved health outcomes, reduced child mortality rates, and better family planning. Moreover, supporting in girl education also promotes gender equality and reduces child marriages. With this thought we are successfully implementing our Educating Linda program together with my dear sisters, African First Ladies,” she noted.

Through this programme, Merck Foundation is  sponsoring the education of many young girls who are unprivileged but brilliant, till they graduate. They want to provide an opportunity to these girls to pursue their dreams and reach their potential through access to education.

She was optimistic that “Together with our partners, we will continue to make a difference in people’s lives. 

It is my great honour to have you all, and my Guests of Honour with us today.”

“I am confident that the two-day conference will bring significant benefits to all of you. Thank you very much,” she concluded.

 By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme