{"id":7923,"date":"2025-02-23T14:30:16","date_gmt":"2025-02-23T10:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/?p=7923"},"modified":"2025-02-23T14:30:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T10:30:19","slug":"merck-foundation-and-first-ladies-of-africa-mark-world-cancer-day-2025-194-oncology-scholarships-provided-across-32-african-countries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/?p=7923","title":{"rendered":"Merck Foundation and First Ladies of Africa mark World Cancer Day 2025: 194 Oncology Scholarships Provided Across 32 African Countries"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Main-_-Merck-Foundation-Africa-Asia-Luminary-20241.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7924\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Main-_-Merck-Foundation-Africa-Asia-Luminary-20241.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Main-_-Merck-Foundation-Africa-Asia-Luminary-20241-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><ul><li><strong>Merck Foundation marks World Cancer Day with African First Ladies by providing 194 scholarships of Oncology Training to African doctors from 32 countries.<\/strong><br>\u00a0<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Merck Foundation together with Africa First Ladies and Ministries of Health has been building cancer care capacity and increasing the limited number of Oncologists in their countries by providing close to 200 Scholarships of One-, two- and three-years fellowship, diploma and Master Degree of oncology to African doctors from 32 Countries.<\/strong><br>\u00a0<\/li><\/ul><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Merck Foundation is making history in Africa by training the First African Oncologists and First Cancer Care Teams in Countries such as The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Liberia, Guinea Conakry, Central African Republic, Chad, Burundi, Malawi, Niger, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and more.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-with-The-First-Lady-of-Burundi-and-erck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Burundi7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7925\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-with-The-First-Lady-of-Burundi-and-erck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Burundi7.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-with-The-First-Lady-of-Burundi-and-erck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Burundi7-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><p><strong>Merck Foundation,<\/strong>\u00a0the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, marks\u00a0<strong>\u2018World Cancer Day 2025\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0together with\u00a0<strong>Africa\u2019s First Ladies and Ministries of Health.\u00a0<\/strong>Through their\u00a0<strong>Cancer Access Program<\/strong>, Merck Foundation is building quality and equitable cancer care capacity in Africa.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"324\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-CEO-with-The-First-Lady-of-DRC-and-Merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-DRC12.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7926\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-CEO-with-The-First-Lady-of-DRC-and-Merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-DRC12.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-CEO-with-The-First-Lady-of-DRC-and-Merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-DRC12-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><p><strong>Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, the CEO of Merck Foundation<\/strong>, highlighted, \u201cAt Merck Foundation, we mark\u00a0<strong>World Cancer Day<\/strong>\u00a0not just as a single day, but as our continued commitment to transform and advance cancer care in Africa.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7928\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-3-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-3-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-3-1-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><p>Together with my dear sisters, the\u00a0<strong>Africa\u2019s First Ladies<\/strong>, we are have enhanced the cancer care capacity in the continent by providing\u00a0<strong>194 scholarships to young African doctors from 32 countries<\/strong>, significantly increasing the number of oncologists in Africa. We are making history together by providing these important scholarships for the first oncologists and \/or the first cancer care teams in many countries across Africa.\u201d\u00a0<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7929\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-2-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><p>Merck Foundation in total provided more than&nbsp;<strong>2100 scholarships to doctors from over 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties.<\/strong><\/p><p>The&nbsp;<strong>Merck Foundation Cancer Access Program<\/strong>&nbsp;provides One, two- and three-years fellowship, Post Graduate Diploma and Master Degree of oncology for doctors from Africa. The clinical training has been conducted in India, Egypt and Kenya. Additionaly, Merck Foundation also provides scholarships for 2 years online PG Diploma in Cancer and Clinical Oncology, 01 year online PG Diploma in Medical Oncology and 1 year online PG Diploma in Pain Management from reputed Universities in UK like University of South Wales, University of Buckingham, Queen Mary University of London, and Cardiff University.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1008\" height=\"1008\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7930\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-7.jpg 1008w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-7-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-7-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-7-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1008px) 100vw, 1008px\" \/><\/figure><p>Merck Foundation is establishing Multidisciplinary Oncology Care teams in many African countries by providing scholarships of clinical training in Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Pediatrics Oncology, Gynecology Oncology, Breast Oncology, Haemato-Oncology, Orthopaedic Oncology, Palliative Care, Pathology Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Research in Oncology, Surgical Oncology &#8211; Genital Urinary System, Advanced Cytopathology Training, Interventional Radiology, Radiation Technician, Laboratory Technician, Oncology Nursing.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-and-The-First-Lady-of-Zambia-with-merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Zambia14.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7931\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-and-The-First-Lady-of-Zambia-with-merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Zambia14.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-and-The-First-Lady-of-Zambia-with-merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Zambia14-300x213.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><p>Merck Foundation through its Merck Foundation Cancer Access Program has provided\u00a0<strong>194 scholarships of Oncology to doctors from 32 countries<\/strong>\u00a0including\u00a0<strong>Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome &amp; Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.<\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-and-The-First-Lady-of-Zimbabwe-with-Merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Zimbabwe14.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7932\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-and-The-First-Lady-of-Zimbabwe-with-Merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Zimbabwe14.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-and-The-First-Lady-of-Zimbabwe-with-Merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Zimbabwe14-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><p>\u201cIn several of these countries, there wasn\u2019t even a single oncologist. We are proud to be making history in Africa by training the first oncologists and establishing the first cancer care teams in nations such as The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Liberia, Guinea Conakry, Central African Republic, Chad, and Niger. Merck Foundation remains committed to transforming the landscape of cancer care across the continent and leading Africa toward a healthier future,\u201d explained\u00a0<strong>Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej.<\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"346\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-with-Merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Zambia9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7933\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-with-Merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Zambia9.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-CEO-with-Merck-Foundation-Alumni-from-Zambia9-300x173.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><p>Africa records around 1.1 million new cases of cancer, resulting in up to 700,000 deaths, every year, as per WHO data. The mortality rate of cancer patients is very high in Africa, as compared to the rest of the world.<\/p><p>\u201cOne of the key reasons is also the late diagnosis of the disease. Therefore, these scholarships are very important\u201d added&nbsp;<strong>Senator Kelej.<\/strong><\/p><p>Merck Foundation has also created awareness materials including awareness leaflets and videos on Cancer Prevention and Early Detection.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"399\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Senator-Dr-Rasha-Kelej-CEO-of-Merck-Foundation-with-Oncology-Alumni1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7934\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Senator-Dr-Rasha-Kelej-CEO-of-Merck-Foundation-with-Oncology-Alumni1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Senator-Dr-Rasha-Kelej-CEO-of-Merck-Foundation-with-Oncology-Alumni1-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><p><strong>Dr. Chifundo Kajombo, Merck Foundation Alumni from Malawi\u00a0<\/strong>shares, \u201cI am privileged to be awarded a scholarship by Merck Foundation to pursue the Surgical Oncology fellowship training program at Tata Memorial Hospital, India. I managed to advance from basic surgical oncology principles to the advanced level. This has helped me improve my understanding of cancer and operative principles. Since returning back home, I have managed to change the structure of how our breast clinic runs and modified it to incorporate a number of new things that we probably could not have possibly included. I am so proud to share that I have just been awarded the Best Surgeon for 2023 in Malawi. I would not have achieved this feat without Merck Foundation\u2019s scholarship. I am very thankful.\u201d<\/p><p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Watch testimonials videos of Merck Foundation Oncology Fellowship Alumni:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container \" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe title=\"*Merck Foundation Alumni, meet the future oncologist of Africa-Oncology Fellowship\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HyfhRYVWgao?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure><p><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1008\" height=\"1008\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7935\" style=\"width:1200px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-4.jpg 1008w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-4-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-4-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Merck-Foundation-marks-World-Cancer-Day-2025-Poster-4-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1008px) 100vw, 1008px\" \/><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merck Foundation,\u00a0the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, marks\u00a0\u2018World Cancer Day 2025\u2019\u00a0together with\u00a0Africa\u2019s First Ladies and Ministries of Health.\u00a0Through their\u00a0Cancer Access Program, Merck Foundation is building quality and equitable cancer care capacity in Africa. Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, the CEO of Merck Foundation, highlighted, \u201cAt Merck Foundation, we mark\u00a0World Cancer Day\u00a0not just as a single [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activities"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Merck Foundation and First Ladies of Africa mark World Cancer Day 2025: 194 Oncology Scholarships Provided Across 32 African Countries | Rasha Kelej<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/?p=7923\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Merck Foundation and First Ladies of Africa mark World Cancer Day 2025: 194 Oncology Scholarships Provided Across 32 African Countries | Rasha Kelej\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Merck Foundation,\u00a0the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, marks\u00a0\u2018World Cancer Day 2025\u2019\u00a0together with\u00a0Africa\u2019s First Ladies and Ministries of Health.\u00a0Through their\u00a0Cancer Access Program, Merck Foundation is building quality and equitable cancer care capacity in Africa. 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