African First Ladies Brainstorm to Improve Healthcare On Continent
African First Ladies have gathered at the highly anticipated 10th edition of the Merck Foundation, Africa Asia Luminary, which aims to improve healthcare on the continent and beyond.
This year’s event, held for the first time in India, a prestigious event, serves as a platform for these influential women to engage in meaningful discussions regarding the development of healthcare in their respective nations.
The gathering brought together first ladies and other participants including Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, and African First Ladies of Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, to inaugurate 10th Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2023.
The decision to hold this milestone event in India reflects the growing recognition of the country's significant contributions to the healthcare sector. India's expertise in medical research, technology, and pharmaceuticals makes it an ideal host for this gathering of distinguished individuals committed to advancing healthcare in Africa.
Speaking during her opening address at the annual conference of Merck Foundation's ten editions and sixth anniversary via Zoom, Merck Foundation CEO Dr. Rasha Kelej lauded everyone for being with them for the 10th Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary, being held in India for the very first time.
Dr. Kelej said just like in the last edition, "We are conducting our annual conference 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."
She added, "Today, we commemorate two very important milestones: the 6th Anniversary of the establishment of the Merck Foundation in 2017, and the 11th Anniversary of our development initiatives in Africa, Asia, and underserved communities, marking the inception of our programs in 2012”.
Merck Foundation CEO added that since then, they have come a long way and have together with our partners, made a 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 we have achieved great success, and we are improving and amplifying our efforts, year by year. I am happy that our partners, African First Ladies and the Ambassadors of Merck Foundation, are going to share with you all the reports of the progress and impact made in their respective countries,” she added.
"I am sure that you all are looking forward to hearing from them their success stories. Ladies and gentlemen, we have been committed for the 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."
Dr. Kelej said she feels 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 specialties 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.
According to her, 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, Indira 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. We 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 said.
Our Merck Foundation Alumni are all present here either physically or online to celebrate with us the 6th Anniversary of Merck Foundation. As you all know, we are also marking 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.
Ladies and gentlemen, 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.
“Sugar-Free Jude” is, of course, one series of 7 Animation films we are releasing, on various topics like Hypertension Awareness, Supporting Girl Education, Ending GBV and Child Marriage, and more.
All our animation films will help to communicate 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 in many countries.
I invite you all to watch our program on our social media. Ladies and gentlemen, 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 leads to improved health outcomes, reduced child mortality rates, and better family planning. Moreover, support for girls' 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. Through this program, we are sponsoring the education of many young girls who are unprivileged but brilliant, till they graduate.
"We want to provide an opportunity for these girls to pursue their dreams and reach their potential through access to education. Together with our partners, we will continue to make a difference in people's lives. It is my great honor 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."