Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and The First Lady of Senegal, H.E. Madam MARIE KHONE FAYE at the 12th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2025
It was an immense honor to welcome and meet my dear sister, H.E. Madam MARIE KHONE FAYE, First Lady of the Republic of Senegal and Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother,” at the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Summit 2025. The Summit was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation & President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative, and H.E. Madam MARIE KHONE FAYE, alongside the esteemed First Ladies of Angola, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Mozambique, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Zimbabwe.
Together with my dear sister, we have achieved a lot, since our partnership journey began in 2025. We are delighted to begin this impactful journey together, through our programs. I am happy to share that we have so far provided 25 scholarships for Senegalese doctors in many specialties such as Oncology, Diabetes, Fertility, and Embryology. We will soon be enrolling more doctors for various other critical and underserved specialties
I am also proud to share the Merck Foundation has provided 2280 scholarships for doctors from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties.
Moreover, as part of our “Educating Linda” program, we are supporting the education of high-performing yet underprivileged schoolgirls annually in Senegal, in partnership with The First Lady, empowering them to pursue their dreams and shape a brighter future. We have also launched seven children’s storybooks in French—“More Than a Mother,” “Educating Linda,” “Jackline’s Rescue,” “Not Who You Are,” “Ride into the Future,” “Sugar Free Jude,” and “Mark’s Pressure”—to address issues like breaking infertility stigma, supporting girl education, stopping GBV, and promoting diabetes and hypertension awareness.
Watch the Speech of The First Lady of Senegal & Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother during the Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2025 here:
Watch the video of Merck Foundation CEO, Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej receiving H.E. Madam MARIE KHONE FAYE, First Lady of the Republic of Senegal, and Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”:
Watch the video of MFFLI committee meeting:
Merck Foundation in partnership with First Lady of Senegal has launched many community awareness initiatives to address a wide range of social and health issues.
Together with the office of the First Lady of Senegal recently conducted their Online Health Media Training to encourage the journalist to be the voice of the voiceless and create a culture shift around critical social issues like supporting girl education, ending GBV and FGM, women empowerment, and health issues like diabetes and hypertension awareness.
During the Summit, we announced the Call for Applications for our eight Merck Foundation Awards in partnership with The First Lady of Senegal, targeting Media, Musicians, Fashion Designers, Filmmakers, students, and new potential talents. These awards aim to inspire creative storytelling to address pressing issues like Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Ending FGM, and Promoting Diabetes and Hypertension Awareness. I warmly invite Senegal’s young talents to submit their creative work to submit@merck-foundation.com by 30th September 2025 for “More Than a Mother” awards and 30th October 2025 for “Diabetes & Hypertension” awards.
View all Call for applications
Apply Online
The Summit’s hybrid format enabled over 6,000 participants from more than 70 countries to join our discussions, amplifying our collective impact and fostering meaningful dialogue on healthcare and social challenges.
Kind Regards,
Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.)
CEO of Merck Foundation
President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative (MFFLI)
President of “More Than a Mother” Campaign
