We at Merck Foundation, together with African First Ladies, mark Women’s Day every day through our impactful development programs, which aim to empower women and girls in education, healthcare, and economic independence. Empowering girls and women is at the core of all our initiatives and programs at Merck Foundation. I recognize the immense potential of women to thrive, succeed, and excel in any domain they choose, yet they often lack the conducive environment to fully realize their capabilities, especially in underserved communities.
Therefore, together with our Ambassadors, The First Ladies of Africa, we mark International Women’s Day every day since the last 13 years through our development programs and initiatives such as ‘More Than a Mother’, ‘Merck Foundation Capacity Advancement’, ‘Educating Linda’, and ‘STEM Program’. “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” is a strong movement that aims to empower infertile and childless women through access to information, education and change of mindset.
I am thrilled to share that out of the 2,230 scholarships awarded across 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved specialties, 1,046 scholarships—nearly 50%—have been granted to female medical graduates, empowering them to become future healthcare experts and leaders. Additionally, we have awarded over 680 scholarships to young doctors dedicated to advancing women’s health by strengthening reproductive, sexual health, and fertility care capacity.
Merck Foundation strongly believes that education is one of the most critical areas of women’s empowerment. Through our “Educating Linda” Program, together with my dear sisters, African First Ladies, we are contributing to the future of over 700 girls by providing scholarships to continue their education and essential school items for thousands of schoolgirls in many African countries such as Botswana, Burundi, Malawi, The Gambia, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cabo Verde, and more.
Moreover, we have benefited thousands of girls through our awareness campaigns, which include releasing inspiring songs, children’s storybooks, animation films, and TV programs, as well as awards for best media, song, film, and fashion designs—all aimed at promoting girl education today for women’s empowerment tomorrow.
Merck Foundation also actively empowers women in Science and Technology through its STEM Program and the annual Merck Foundation Africa Research Summit (MARS) Awards, which recognize and celebrate the Best African Women Researchers and Best Young African Researchers, fostering research excellence.
Our goal is to empower women and young African researchers, enhance their research capacity, and promote their contributions to STEM.
To address the importance of supporting girl education and other social issues, we annually launch awards for best media, song, film, and fashion designs. I invite the African community of media, fashion, filmmaking, and musicians, as well as students and potential talents in these fields, to apply for the awards this year by sharing their creative work on submit@merck-foundation.com.
It’s all about giving every woman and girl the respect, opportunities, and support they deserve to lead fulfilling and empowered lives.
I want to wish everyone a Happy International Women’s Day to all the women in the world and to the men who support and empower them.
Kind regards,
Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej
CEO of Merck Foundation
Watch the Episodes of “Our Africa by Merck Foundation” TV program on Supporting Girl Education:
Episode 2:
Episode 11:
Listen to Merck Foundation song about Supporting Girl Education here:
Watch, share & subscribe to the “Girl Can” song here, sung by two famous singers, Irene and Cwezi from Liberia and Ghana respectively:
Watch, share & subscribe the “Like Them” song here, sung by Kenneth, a famous singer from Uganda:
Watch, share & subscribe “Take me to School” song here, sung by Wezi, Afro-soul singer from Zambia, to support girls’ education:
Watch share & subscribe “Tu Podes Sim” Portuguese song, which means “Yes, You Can” in English by Blaze and Tamyris Moiane, singers from Mozambique in English here:
Watch, share & subscribe “Brighter day” song by Sean K and Cwesi Oteng from Namibia and Ghana respectively:
Watch the Merck Foundation Animation Films to Support Girl Education:
Ride into to Future:
Jackeline’s Rescue:
Read the Merck Foundation storybook addressing the importance of Girl Education:
- To read Educating Linda Storybook, click here
- To read Jackline’s Rescue Storybook, click here
- To read Ride into the Future Storybook, click here
- To read Not Who You Are Storybook, click here
