- More than 2,280 scholarships for young doctors from 52 countries
MARGARET CHISANGA
Dubai
MERCK Foundation has provided more than 2,280 scholarships for young doctors from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved specialties, the Merck Foundation’s 7th Edition of First Ladies Initiative Summit shared in Dubai recently.
Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, conducted the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative – MFFLI Summit 2025 on 19th and 20th June in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
It was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, and Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative along with The First Ladies of 14 African and Asian countries, who joined as the Guests of Honor and Keynote Speakers.
“Many of our Merck Foundation Alumni are becoming the first specialists in their countries. Together with our Ambassadors and Partners, we are making history and transforming the patient care landscape across Africa and beyond. Many of them are becoming the first specialists in their countries,” Senator Dr Kelej shared.
She emphasised that through the summit, valuable experiences are shared.
“We have engaged in meaningful discussions on the impact of our programmes, which are aimed at transforming patient care and raising awareness of a wide range of critical social and health issues,” She said.
“During our Conference, we also marked together the World Infertility Awareness Month, observed in June, through our signature campaign “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother”, which aims to empower infertile and childless women by providing access to information, education, and change of mindset. I am happy to share that out of the total 2280 scholarships, more than 700 scholarships have been provided for training in Fertility, Embryology, Sexual and Reproductive Medicine, Clinical Psychiatry, Women’s Health, Urology, Laparoscopic Surgical Skills, and Family Medicine, to improve access to fertility care and women’s health”, she further added.
And Proff Haverkamp highlited the goals of the foundation.
“At Merck Foundation, our goal is improving overall health and well-being by building healthcare capacity and by providing access to quality & equitable healthcare solutions in the Africa, Asia and beyond. I would like to sincerely thank our Ambassadors and partners. Together, with your unwavering support and collaboration, we will continue to work towards our vision of a world where everyone can lead a healthy and happy life,” he said.
The First Ladies of 14 countries, who are also the Ambassadors of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother”, joined as Guests of Honor and Keynote Speakers. They are:
First ladies from Angola, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Mozambique.
Others included First ladies from Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal and Zimbabwe
The summit also marked two important occasions; the 8th Anniversary of Merck Foundation and 13 years of Merck Foundation’s development programs that started in 2012.
Other than the Plenary Session of the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative, a high-level ministerial panel discussion was held with African Ministers and top healthcare experts from across the globe.
Two medical and scientific sessions covering Oncology and Fertility Topics was held with specialists from various countries.
A community awareness session themed Merck Foundation Health Media Training was also held. It emphasized the critical role of the media in influencing communities and driving cultural change, with regards to social and health issues like Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girls’ Education, Stopping GBV, Ending Child Marriage & FGM, Empowering Women, Diabetes and Hypertension Awareness.
The summit, held in a hybrid format, enabled over 6,000 audiences from more than 70 countries to participate and discuss strategies and solutions for the health and social challenges in their countries.
