Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO with their Kenyan Alumni and Media Winners in Nairobi, Kenya.
Merck Foundation marked milestone of providing 165 scholarships to doctors in 42 critical specialties during their annual Alumni Summit – Celebrating their legacy of transforming patient care landscape in Kenya. Merck Foundation Kenya Annual Summit and Awards Ceremony 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, chaired by Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees and by myself. During the Summit, we met and acknowledged the Merck Foundation Alumni and the Winners of the Merck Foundation Media Recognition Awards 2023 from Kenya. It was a proud moment for me to meet and acknowledge our Merck Foundation Alumni who are becoming the future healthcare experts of Kenya. I am happy to share that we are transforming the patient care landscape in Kenya by providing 165 scholarships one-year PG Diploma and Two-year Master degree in in 42 critical and underserved medical specialties such as; Oncology, Fertility, Embryology, Diabetes, Preventative Cardiovascular, Endocrinology, Sexual and Reproductive Care, Gastroenterology, Respiratory, Acute Medicine, Clinical Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Neonatal Medicine, Urology, Pain Management, Cardiology, Critical Care, Rheumatology and many more.
In Kenya, out of the total 165 scholarships provided by Merck Foundation;
- 7 Scholarships have been provided for Oncology to develop and support the cancer care capacity in the country.
- 96 scholarships provided for one-year PG Diploma and two-year Master degree in Diabetes, Preventative Cardiovascular Medicine, Cardiology and Endocrinology for Kenyan doctors from different provinces across the country, which is very important to improve access to quality and equitable diabetes and hypertension patient care not only in Nairobi but nationwide.
- 25 scholarships have been provided for Fertility, Embryology, and one-year PG Diploma and two-year Master degree in Sexual and Reproductive Medicine, as a part of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” Campaign.
- 37 Scholarships of one-year Online PG Diploma and two-Year Master degree provided in other critical and underserved specialties like Gastroenterology, Respiratory Medicine, Acute Medicine, Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Neonatal Medicine, Urology, Pain Management, Critical Care and Rheumatology, as part of Merck Foundation Capacity Advancement Program.
Moreover, it was amazing to felicitate the 9 winners of Merck Foundation Media Awards 2023 from Kenya and discuss with them the critical role they can play to create a culture shift, be the voice of the voiceless and be the Merck Foundation health and social champions. Please see here the list of winners from Kenya and other countries and apply for awards.
During the program we also announced the broadcast of “Our Africa” TV Program on KTN Kenya, every Saturday at 5pm and repeated every Thursday at 6:30 am. I am excited for the airing of “OUR AFRICA” on KTN, Kenya, part of our long-term partner The Standard Media Group. “Our Africa” is a first-of-its-kind TV program that is set to be the voice of the voiceless and break the silence about many critical and sensitive social and health issues in Africa like Breaking Infertility Stigma, Importance of early detection & prevention of Diabetes, Supporting Girl Education, Ending Child Marriage, Stopping Gender-Based Violence, promoting a Healthy Lifestyle, Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Sustainability, and many more.
Watch the Promo of ‘Our Africa by Merck Foundation’ here:
We are committed to transforming patient care in Kenya and we will continue to scale up these numbers in order to create a stronger platform of skilled medical professionals and strengthen the public healthcare system in Kenya and rest of Africa.
Kind Regards,
Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej,
CEO of Merck Foundation
President of “More Than a Mother” Campaign
