Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO with Ghana First Lady during the launch of Educating Linda Program.
I am happy to share that we have officially launched our Educating Linda Program to support girl education, in partnership with First Lady of Ghana, H.E. Mrs. LORDINA DRAMANI MAHAMA, who is also the Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” in Ghana. The program was chaired by the Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg Haverkamp, myself, and the First Lady of Ghana.
Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO with Ghana First Lady during the launch of Educating Linda Program.
It is a great pleasure to meet our long-term partner and my dear sister, First Lady of Ghana & Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother”, to officially launch our programs both Educating Linda program and scholarships programs in partnership with her office and the Lordina Foundation, to support girl education in the country. As a part of Educating Linda program, we are providing annual scholarships to 40 high-performing yet underprivileged Ghanian schoolgirls, till they finish their education. Our aim is to ensure that financial challenges never stand in the way of their dreams and potential. We strongly believe that educating a girl empowers not only her, but also her family, community, and future generations.
During the program, we took the opportunity to meet and encourage the Ghanian schoolgirls who are the beneficiaries of the Educating Linda program, and to hear directly from them and their parents about the impact the scholarships have had on their lives. Along with the First Lady, we have provided provided 257 scholarships for Ghanian healthcare providers in 44 critical and underserved specialties; including Fertility, Embryology, Sexual & Reproductive Care, Urology, Women’s Health, Family Medicine, Diabetes, Endocrinology, Preventive Cardiovascular and Obesity & Weight Management, Oncology, cancer Care, Acute Medicine, Respiratory Care, Critical care, General Surgery, Trauma and Orthopaedics, Psychiatry, Dermatology, Emergency & Resuscitation Medicine, Gastroenterology, Infectious diseases, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Neuroimaging for Research, Pain Management, Rheumatology, Neonatal Medicine, Paediatrics and Child Health, Care of the Older Person and more.
During our visit, we have also conducted the Merck Foundation Alumni Summit 2026, to acknowledge and meet our Alumni. Moreover, we also met and recognized the Merck Foundation Awards Winners of 2024 and 2025.
The Educating Linda program by Merck Foundation in partnership with African First Ladies, has provided more than 1,500 annual scholarships for schoolgirls across 21 African countries, including Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and others. The program also ensures that thousands of schoolgirls across Africa receive essential school supplies, removing further practical obstacles to their education. When a girl is educated, an entire nation is empowered. Educated girls grow into empowered women, who drive prosperity, strengthen families, and advance nations. That is the vision behind everything we do: Girl Education today for Women Empowerment tomorrow.
In partnership with the First Lady of Ghana, we have launched seven children’s storybooks titled “More Than a Mother”, “Educating Linda”, “Jackline’s Rescue”, “Not Who You Are”, “Ride into the Future”, “Sugar Free Jude”, and “Mark’s Pressure”. These storybooks address critical social and health issues and will be available in both English and Swahili. Thousands of copies of these storybooks will be distributed to schoolchildren across Ghana.
We also annually launch eight important awards for excellence in media, film, fashion design, and song. Together, we have also conducted several editions of the Merck Foundation Health Media Training Program, enabling Ghanian journalists to be equipped to be the voice of the voiceless and report responsibly and effectively on sensitive topics, including infertility, child marriage, gender based violence, diabetes, and hypertension.
I invite the media and creative community apply for the awards, by clicking here.
Kind regards,
Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.)
CEO of Merck Foundation