The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
Over 545 young medical professionals from 39 countries, including Zimbabwe, have been granted scholarships for the study of embryology, fertility, and reproductive care.
Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, together with Africa’s First Ladies ( who are their ambassadors) made the announcement while marking International Women’s Day 2024, through their historic campaign “More Than a Mother”.
Merck Foundation’s CEO, Dr Rasha Kelej, who is also the President of “More Than a Mother”, released a statement expressing her satisfaction with the foundation’s efforts to enhance and develop fertility care services in Africa and Asia. She said the foundation aims to support childless couples and women.
“I am very proud to share that we have provided till today more than 545 scholarships of embryology, fertility and reproductive care to young doctors from 39 different countries,” she said.
Dr Kelej said most of their alumni are trained to be the first local experts in their countries, where they never used to have local embryologists or fertility specialists before their programme.
Some of the countries, she revealed, include the Gambia, Burundi, Guinea, Chad, Niger, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Malawi, Congo and more.
Together with African First Ladies, and other important partners, we are making history and reshaping the landscape of fertility and reproductive care across Africa and beyond”, added Dr Kelej.
Dr Kelej added that Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother” is a powerful campaign that defines interventions to build quality and equitable reproductive and fertility care capacity, break infertility stigma, and raise awareness about infertility prevention and male infertility.
“Happy International Women’s Day to all the women in the world and to the men who support and empower them.
“We at Merck Foundation, together with First Ladies of Africa, mark Women’s Day every day
through our “More Than a Mother” campaign, which is a strong and unique movement that aims to empower women living with infertility stigma through access to information, education, change of mindset, and economic empowerment,” added Dr Kelej.
According to WHO data, more than 180 million couples in developing countries – that is in one in every four couples, suffer from infertility.
In many cultures in Africa, infertility is a huge stigma.
Women are solely blamed for failing to conceive and the social stigma of childlessness, especially for women leads to isolation and stigmatisation and results in discrimination and
ostracism. This mostly also leads to divorce or physical or psychological violence. As a part of
“More Than a Mother” Campaign, Merck Foundation said it has launched many initiatives to break this stigma and create a culture shift.
Merck Foundation added that it has also been empowering childless and infertile women through their “Empowering Berna” initiative under their “More Than a Mother” movement. This initiative, the organisation added, helps women who cannot be treated for infertility anymore by helping them get trained to establish small businesses so that they can be independent and rebuild their lives.
Through ‘Empowering Berna’, the lives of many infertile women have been transformed in many African countries like Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Niger, Malawi, and many more.
“It’s all about giving every woman the respect and the help she deserves to lead a fulfilling life, with or without a child,” added Dr Kelej.
Moreover, Merck Foundation has trained more than 3000 media representatives from more than 35 countries, Zimbabwe included, to raise community awareness and break the stigma around infertility and infertile and childless women.
Merck Foundation in partnership with Africa’s First Ladies, has also launched ‘More Than
Mother’ Children’s storybook to emphasise strong family values of love and respect from
a young age which will reflect on eliminating the stigma of infertility and domestic violence in the future.
The storybooks have been localised for each country and in three languages, English, French and Portuguese to better connect with the young readers.
