(MENAFN- African Press Organization) DAKAR, Senegal, November 1, 2018/APO Group/ --
5th Edition of 'Merck Africa Asia Luminary was conducted under the patronage ofThe President of Senegal, H.E. MACKY SALL;Merck foundation ( www.Merck-Foundation.com ) also celebrated 350thAnniversary of Merck and the 1stanniversary of Merck Foundation during their Luminary; 09 African First Ladies, 12 Ministers of health and More than 500 African healthcare providers from Africa and Asia benefited from several medical education sessions.
Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck Germany conducted the5th Edition of 'Merck Africa Asia Luminaryunder the patronage ofThe President of The Republic of Senegal, H.E. MACKY SALLandThe First Lady of Senegal, H.E. MARIEME FAYE SALL, and in partnership with theMinistry of Health of Senegal.
During his closing speech,The President of Senegal, H.E. MACKY SALLemphasized 'I am very glad to be hosting this important conference in Senegal, as it will help explore many partnership opportunities and introduce new frameworks for health capacity building in collaboration with our Ministry of health and Merck Foundation and other ministries of health and healthcare societies & institutions across the world. I personally urge African Governments to prioritize investing on healthcare capacity building.
Prof. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of the Executive Board and Family Board of E-Merck KGemphasized,'Merck is a value driven company and that is one of the reasons why Merck through its foundation is committed to support the social and economic development of Africa, Asia and developing countries by building healthcare capacity and improving access to innovative and equitable healthcare in the continent.
Merck Foundation CEO, Dr. Rasha Kelejwelcomed theFirst LadiesasMerck Foundation Partners and AmbassadorsofMerck More Than a Motherto empower infertile women and build healthcare capacity in their countries.
'We are very proud to have the support ofH.E. MACKY SALLto enable us to realize our vision to change the landscape of Cancer care in Senegal and rest of Africa',Dr.Kelej added.
The First Lady of Senegal, H.E. MARIEME FAYE SALLdelivered the keynote speech at the Luminary and welcomed the partnership with Merck Foundation to build healthcare capacity, along with
H.E. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady ofBotswana;
H.E. DENISE NKURUNZIZA, The First Lady of the Republic of Burundi;
H.E. BRIGITTE TOUADERA, The First Lady ofCentral Africa Republic;
H.E. HINDA DEBY ITNO, The First Lady ofChad;
H.E. REBECCA NAA OKAIKOR AKUFO-ADDO, The First Lady ofGhana;
H.E. AISSATA ISSOUFOU MAHAMADOU, The First Lady of Niger;
H.E. FATIMA MAADA BIO, The First Lady ofSierra Leone and
H.E. ESTHER LUNGU, The First Lady ofZambia
They have also announced their acceptance to be appointed asAmbassadorsofMerck More Than a Mothercampaign to empower infertile women and break the stigma of infertility in their countries.
During the conference, Merck Foundation also celebrated two important occasions; the350th Anniversary of Merckand the1st Anniversary of Merck Foundation.
A high level Ministerial panel also took place.
During the panel ministers of health discussed 'Building Fertility and cancer care capacity and breaking the Infertility Stigma in Africa and Asia. The panel discussion involvedHon. Abdoulaye Diouf SARR,Minister of Health and Social Action, of Sénégal; Hon. Sarah Opendi, Minister of State for Health of Uganda; Hon Dr Alfred Madigele - Minister of Health and Wellness, the Republic of Botswana, Hon. Dr. Idi Illiassou Maïnassara, Minister of Public Health, of the Niger; Hon. Aziz Mahamat Saleh Ahmat, Minister of Public Health, of Chad; Hon. Dr. Pierre Somse, Minister of Health and Population, Central African Republic; Hon. Dr. Alpha Tejan Wurie, Minister of Health and Sanitation, of Sierra Leone; Hon. Dr. Isatou Touray, Minister for Health and Social Welfare, of The Gambia, Hon. Mariama Sylla, Minister of Social Action, Child and Women promotion,Guinee, Hon. Aboubakar Assidikh Tchoroma, Minister of National Education and Civic Promotion, Chadand Hon. Julieta Kavetuna, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, of Namibia .
More than58countriesparticipated in the Luminary, the list included: Angola, Benin, Burkina Fuso, Bangladesh, Botswana, Burundi, Canada, Cameroon, Cambodia, Chad, Central African Republic, Cote D'Ivoire, DR Congo, Congo, Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Egypt, France, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Conakry, Gabon, Ghana, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia Mali, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Malaysia, Nigeria, Niger, Nepal Philippines, Rwanda, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Togo, UAE, Uganda, USA, UK, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Merck Foundation.
(L-R): H.E. REBECCA NAA OKAIKOR AKUFO-ADDO, The First Lady of Ghana; H.E. BRIGITTE TOUADERA, The First Lady of Central Africa Republic; H.E. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Botswana; H.E. AISSATA ISSOUFOU MAHAMADOU, The First Lady of Niger; H.E. HINDA DEBY ITNO, The First Lady of Chad; Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation; H.E. MACKY SALL, The President of Senegal; H.E. MARIEME FAYE SALL, The First Lady of Senegal; H.E. FATIMA MAADA BIO, The First Lady of Sierra Leone; H.E. ESTHER LUNGU, The First Lady of Zambia; H.E. DENISE NKURUNZIZA, The First Lady of the Republic of Burundi
(L-R): Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation with H.E. MACKY SALL, The President of Senegal and H.E. MARIEME FAYE SALL, The First Lady of Senegal
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About ‘Merck More Than a Mother' campaign;
In many cultures, childless women suffer discrimination, stigma, and ostracism. Their inability to have children results in great isolation, disinheritance, and assaults. 'Merck More Than a Mother empowers such women through the access to information, health, change of mindsets and economic empowerment.
As part of this Campaign, we started 'Empowering Berna project in Africa to help childless and infertile women starting their own business and thus achieve financial independence and become stronger and happier. The project has benefited more than 1,000 women across the continent.
Also, part of the campaign is our Merck Embryology & Fertility Training Program, a three-month hands-on practical course to establish the platform of fertility specialists across Africa and Asia.
Merck Foundation provided for more than 84 candidates, three months to six months clinical and practical training for fertility specialists and embryologists in more than 29 countries across Africa and Asia such as: Chad, Niger, Central African Republic, Cote D'Ivoire , Ghana, Ethiopia , Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania , Zambia , Nigeria, Benin, Mali, Burkina Fuso, Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cameron, Rwanda, Botswana, DR Congo , Congo Brazzaville, Gambia , Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Merck Foundation is making history in many African countries where they never had fertility specialists or specialized fertility clinics before ‘Merck More Than a Mother' intervention, to train the first fertility specialists such as; in Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, Niger, Chad, and Guinea.
Merck Foundation plan supported the establishment of the first public IVF centers in Ethiopia and Uganda through providing the clinical and practical training necessary for their staff. Merck Foundation also plans to support the establishment of the first public IVF in Tanzania soon.
'Merck more than a Mother launched in 2015, is a program of the Merck Foundation, the foundation drives many of our initiatives and programs in the area of build health care and research capacity and improves access to equitable healthcare solutions.
About Merck Foundation:
The Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com), established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology. Our efforts are primarily focused on improving access to innovative healthcare solutions in underserved communities, building healthcare and scientific research capacity and empowering people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with a special focus on women and youth. All Merck Foundation press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Foundation Website. Please go to www.Merck-Foundation.com to read more and/or register online to interact and exchange experience with our registered members.
About Merck:
Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Almost 53,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2017, Merck generated sales of € 15.3 billion in 66 countries.
Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma
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