Merck Foundation and African First Ladies mark ‘World Assisted Reproductive Technology Day’ 2023 by providing 490 scholarships to develop Embryologists, Fertility & Reproductive Specialists across Africa and Asia

• Merck Foundation marks World ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) Day 2023 through providing 490 scholarships of Embryology, Fertility and Reproductive care in 39 countries in Africa and Asia.

• Merck Foundation makes history by training the first local Embryologists and Reproductive & Fertility Experts in many countries such as The Gambia, Liberia, Burundi, Guinea, Chad, Niger, Sierra Leone, Malawi, and Congo. Moreover, supported training for the staff of First Public IVF Centers in Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Niger, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, marks ‘World ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) Day 2023’ together with African First Ladies, who are also the Ambassadors of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” Campaign, by building and advancing fertility care capacity in Africa and Asia. 

Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of “More Than a Mother” emphasized, "We at Merck Foundation strongly believe in the critical role of Embryologists and Fertility & Reproductive Care Specialists to empower infertile women through improving their access to information, change of mindset and quality & equitable fertility care across Africa & Asia as part of our “More than a Mother” campaign.

As a part of the campaign, we marked World ART Day through providing more than 490 scholarships to young doctors from 39 countries to be the local Embryologists, Fertility & Reproductive care experts in their countries. Moreover, many of our Alumni were trained to be the first local experts in their countries where they never had even a single local embryologist or fertility specialist before our program such as; The Gambia, Burundi, Guinea, Chad, Niger, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Malawi, Congo , Mozambique and more.

Together with Merck Foundation Alumni, and our partners, we are making history and reshaping the landscape of fertility & Reproductive care across Africa and beyond.”

Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother” is a strong movement that aims to empower women living with Infertility through access to information, education, change of mindset, and economic empowerment. This powerful campaign defines interventions to build quality and equitable Reproductive and Fertility Care Capacity, Break Infertility Stigma and Raise Awareness about Infertility Prevention and Male Infertility.

“To give an overview, out of our total 1580 scholarships, we have provided more than 215 Scholarships for clinical and practical training to Fertility Specialists and Embryologists, and more than 275 Scholarships for PG Diploma and Master Degree in Sexual and Reproductive Medicine, Clinical Psychiatry, Women's Health, Biotechnology of Human Assisted Reproduction & Embryology, Urology, Laparoscopic Surgical skills to doctors from 39 countries across Africa and Asia. We are proud of this achievement”, added Dr. Rasha Kelej.

Moreover, Merck Foundation has trained more than 2500 media representatives from more than 35 countries to raise community awareness and break the stigma around infertility and infertile and childless women.

Merck Foundation has also been empowering childless and infertile women through their “Empowering Berna” initiative under their “More Than a Mother” movement. This initiative helps women who cannot be treated for infertility anymore by helping them to 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 inmany African countries like Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Niger, Malawi, and many more.

Merck Foundation in partnership with African First Ladies has also launched David’s Story, a children’s storybook to emphasize strong family values of love and respect from a young age which will reflect on eliminating the stigma of infertility and the resulted domestic violence in the future. The storybooks have been localized for each country and in three languages,English, French and Portuguese to have a better connect with the young readers. Read David’s Story here: https://merck-foundation.com/merckfoundation/public/uploads/digital_library/1623068222_8c2d31133aeda35530d4.pdf

Merck Foundation’s pan African TV program “Our Africa”, that is conceptualized, produced, directed, and co-hosted by Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and features African Fashion Designers, Singers, and prominent experts from various domains with the aim to raise awareness and create a culture shift across Africa, has many episodes dedicated to raise awareness about infertility and breaking infertility stigma.Watch the episodes here: 

Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BONCtUJZLHI

Episode 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqobIDOHc4E&feature=youtu.be

Episode 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXkB6sYb2Rw

Merck Foundation has also released about 30 songs, many of these songs have been created with the aim to break the infertility stigma, as a part of their “More Than a Mother” campaign. 

Listen to some of the songs here:

1. Watch, share & subscribe to the 'Plus qu'une MERE' composed and sung by Ms. Lucky-Lou, the daughter of The President and The First Lady of Burundi: https://youtu.be/EEUjxjqlHv0

2. Watch, share & subscribe to the “More Than a Mother” song by Cwesi Oteng and Adina from Ghana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ6ZprqAAJs

3. Watch, share & subscribe to the “More Than a Mother” song by H.E. George Weah, the President of the Republic of Liberia created to support Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother” movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfjS3kY2YWY

Listen to all “More than a Mother” songs here: https://merck-foundation.com/our-programs/Merck-Foundation-More-Than-a-Mother/Local-Songs-and-Children-Stories

“To address this important issue of breaking infertility stigma and also a wide range of other social issues, we annually launch Merck Foundation ‘More Than a Mother’ Awards in partnership with African First Ladies. I would also like to invite the African Community of Media, Fashion, Film making, and Musicians, students, and potential talents in these fields to apply for the awards this year, to create a culture shift and break the silence about one or more of the following topics: Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Ending FGM, and/ or Stopping GBV at all levels. I am looking forward to receiving their creative work on submit@merck-foundation.com”, concluded Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej.

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About Merck Foundation:

The Merck Foundation, 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 quality & equitable 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 visit Merck-Foundation.com to read more. To know more, reach out to our social media: Merck Foundation (Merck-Foundation.com); Facebook (bit.ly/32YFKpv), Twitter (bit.ly/2TeOQNj), Instagram (bit.ly/3g6OYr3), YouTube (bit.ly/3zc3up1), and Flickr (bit.ly/2Tay0Pu).

Cassien Tribunal Aungane, Editor