By Winnie Osika
Africa and Asia will receive further support in healthcare through capacity building and patient care transformation, a commitment made by Merck Foundation.
Speaking at the Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2023 (10th Edition) in Mumbai, Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees reaffirmed Merck’s commitment in improving overall health and well-being by building healthcare capacity and by providing access to quality and equitable healthcare solutions in the Africa, Asia and beyond.
Dr. Haverkamp said the Foundation has over the years contributed to the training of healthcare practitioners in both Africa and Asia so as to help improve healthcare delivery.
“I am proud to share that Merck Foundation has provided more than 1700 scholarships to young doctors from 50 countries in 42 critical and underserved specialties such as Oncology and Cancer care, Diabetes, Endocrinology, Cardiovascular, Fertility Care, Embryology, Sexual & Reproductive Medicine, Internal Medicine, Respiratory Medicine, Acute Medicine, Critical Care, Pediatric Emergency, Gastroenterology, Rheumatology, Clinical Psychiatry, Urology and Ophthalmology. Other areas are in General Surgery, Trauma & Orthopedic, Dermatology, Neonatal Care, Pain Management, Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, Advanced Surgical Practice, Neuroimaging for Research and more.” Said Dr. Haverkamp.
Many of these scholarships were conducted in India where a state of art clinical training was provided at the prestigious training institutions of Merck Foundation.
He further noted that a good number of those who benefited from the scholarship are becoming the first specialists in their respective countries.
The annual conference attracted the First Ladies of 11 African Countries, also the Ambassadors of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”
CEO of Merck Foundation Dr. Rasha Kelej, who doubles up as the President of More Than a Mother initiative said: “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.”
The event also served as an occasion to mark cancer awareness month that is observed every October- which is aimed at raising awareness about the disease.
Dr. Kelej mentioned that Merck Foundation has provided 138 scholarships to doctors from 28 countries for Oncology training through their partners in India.
“We are committed towards healthcare capacity advancement and patient care transformation and reshaping the landscape of public healthcare sector in 50 countries in Africa, Asia and beyond,” she said.
She further noted that apart from healthcare capacity advancement, Merck Foundation is raising awareness on a wide range of sensitive and critical social health issues like supporting girl child education, ending child marriage, stopping gender-based violence, breaking infertility stigma, ending FGM, Diabetes awareness, and hypertension awareness.
More than 10,000 participants including healthcare providers, policymakers, researchers, academia and media representatives from 70 English, French, Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries attended the Luminary through hybrid model to benefit from five parallel scientific and social sessions to advance healthcare capacity and awareness in 42 critical and underserved medical specialties.
