l am very happy and proud to meet the First Lady of Democratic Republic of Congo, H.E. MADAM DENISE NYAKERU TSHISEKEDI to mark together the International Day of Violence against Women and Girls and appoint her as the Ambassador of Merck More than a Mother to work closely together, to build healthcare capacity, break the stigma of Infertility and empower girls through education through our long term partnership.
We have discussed our long-term collaboration and partnership with her Foundation, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education to continue our efforts to build healthcare capacity, provide specialty training to more doctors and empower girls through education. More than 38 doctors from DRC have been enrolled in our training programs.
Merck Foundation is closely working on their important program “Educating Katty” together with DRC First Lady to sponsor the education of 20 best performing girls in their secondary schools till they graduate.
Moreover, Merck Foundation celebrated 9 winners from DRC for their “Stay at Home” Media Recognition Awards to raise awareness about COVID 19 in the country.
Along with appointing The First Lady of Democratic Republic of the Congo as the Ambassador of Merck More Than A Mother, Merck Foundation also marked the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.”
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations, and on the occasion of ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women’, we must work together to eliminate violence against women and girls once and for all.
Stay tuned to know more about our programs in DR Congo.
Thank you, Madam First Lady, my dear sister, for the visit and for this valuable meeting.
Kind regards,
Dr. Rasha Kelej,
CEO of Merck Foundation
President of Merck More Than A Mother
One of the 100 Most Influential Africans ( 2019 & 2020 )