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Invest in Health Workers Training and Retention — Merck Foundation Board Chair
African governments have been urged to prioritise investments in training and retaining healthcare professionals to curb the continent’s worsening brain drain and improve access to quality healthcare.
Chairman of the Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, Professor Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp said Africa cannot achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) without a strong and well-retained health workforce capable of responding to the region’s high disease burden.
“Africa carries 24 percent of the world’s disease burden yet has only 2.9 healthcare workers per 1,000 people. Building capacity is not enough; we must retain the talents we train,” he said.
Prof. Stangenberg-Haverkamp made the remarks at the opening of the 12th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary in Banjul, The Gambia, on Friday.
Chaired by the Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, with the First Lady of The Gambia, Madame Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow, as co-chair, the meeting brought together First Ladies from across Africa, government ministers, healthcare experts, policymakers, and media professionals to advance efforts to build a responsive health system in Africa.
Prof. Stangenberg-Haverkamp noted that while lack of financial resources remains a challenge to attaining UHC, the more critical barrier is the scarcity of skilled healthcare providers, which continues to undermine healthcare delivery across many countries.
“We believe that good healthcare can transform the lives of individuals and families across developing countries.
Its significance contributes to the economic and social development of any country because healthcare is a major driver of both, and our governments must rise to the task,” he stressed.
The Board Chair highlighted Merck Foundation’s contribution to strengthening Africa’s healthcare systems, including providing more than 2,400 scholarships since 2012 to doctors and healthcare workers from 52 countries.
The training covers 44 underserved medical specialties, including oncology, fertility and reproductive care, diabetology, cardiology, respiratory and critical care, neonatal care, and internal medicine.
Prof. Stangenberg-Haverkamp reinforced the Foundation’s commitment to breaking infertility stigma and promoting girls’ education through the “More Than a Mother” and “Educating Linda” initiatives, which support women’s empowerment and scholarships for underprivileged girls.
He assured that Merck Foundation will continue to work with First Ladies and partners to bridge healthcare gaps and build resilient health systems across the continent.
Dr. Kelej expressed the Foundation’s commitment to continue rolling out programmes to transform patient care and address critical social and health issues on the continent.
“Before our interventions, some countries like Burundi, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia had no specialists in key fields such as oncology, fertility, or ICU care.
Patients either had to travel abroad or had no access to treatment at all. It’s really amazing that these scholarships have actually transformed the patient care landscape in the public sectors in all these countries, and today, we are changing that story,” she said.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
Mrs Patience Antonio, a Child and Family Development Advocate, has called for a national campaign to reduce the growing reliance on breast milk substitutes among nursing mothers in Ghana.
According to Mrs Antonio, scientific evidence shows that breastfeeding improves a child’s emotional stability, boosts intelligence, strengthens the immune system, and provides long-term health benefits. She made these remarks in an interview with The Spectator in Accra last week, emphasizing the importance of breastfeeding for a child’s overall development.
She explained that breastfeeding is not just a biological act of feeding but a key emotional and developmental bridge between mother and child. She also highlighted the need for the recommended six-month maternity leave period to ease the pressure on mothers to return to work prematurely.
“Breastfeeding creates intimacy and trust. It assures the baby of love and security, which becomes the foundation for their emotional health,” Mrs Antonio noted, warning that abandoning exclusive breastfeeding could have long-term implications on children’s social and emotional wellbeing.
Consequently, she called for a minimum of five months of fully paid maternity leave for Ghanaian mothers to enable effective breastfeeding, bonding, and healthier child development. She also urged workplaces to implement family-friendly policies, including private spaces for breastfeeding, flexible working arrangements for nursing mothers, and stronger support systems for new parents.
Mrs Antonio further encouraged families and society to actively support mothers during breastfeeding, stressing that many women struggle due to lack of assistance at home or the pressure to return to work too soon. She emphasized, “If we want a healthier, emotionally stable generation, then we must make breastfeeding a priority and support mothers to do it without stress.”
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Spectator
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The Nanvili Community School in the Mion District of the Northern Region is facing severe infrastructural challenges, affecting teaching and learning for pupils in the area.
The school, which serves five surrounding communities with a total of 58 pupils, has deteriorated to the extent that many children have stopped attending classes. Poor classroom conditions and the lack of desks have made teaching and learning difficult. During a visit to the school, the gate-free classrooms were found filled with goat and sheep droppings.
During the rainy season, both teachers and pupils are often cut off from the school due to bad roads and flooding. Teaching activities are frequently suspended for weeks, negatively affecting academic performance.
The Assemblyman for the area, Mr. Dawuni Mutawakil, expressed concern, noting that the situation is worrying since these pupils are expected to compete with their counterparts in urban areas who have access to better facilities. He added that due to limited space, classes have been merged, with pupils from Primary One and Two, Three and Four, and Five and Six sharing the same classrooms.
The Chief of Nanvili, Abu Kassim, also appealed to the government and non-governmental organisations to come to the aid of the community. He emphasized that the current state of the school discourages children from nearby communities from attending.
Both the Chief and Assemblyman have called for urgent intervention to improve infrastructure and provide furniture for the pupils to ensure quality education for children in the Nanvili area.
By Geoffrey Buta, Nanvili, Northern Region
Spectator
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