{"id":8319,"date":"2026-04-05T15:32:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T11:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/?p=8319"},"modified":"2026-04-05T15:32:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T11:32:58","slug":"message-from-dr-rasha-kelej-ceo-of-merck-foundation-on-strengthening-healthcare-capacity-and-social-development-initiatives-during-the-merck-foundation-first-ladies-initiative-committee-meeting-202","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/?p=8319","title":{"rendered":"Message from Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, on strengthening healthcare capacity and social development initiatives during the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Committee Meeting 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"751\" height=\"501\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Main-_Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-in-Gambia2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8320\" style=\"width:1026px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Main-_Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-in-Gambia2-1.jpg 751w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Main-_Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-in-Gambia2-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Main-_Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-in-Gambia2-1-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 751px) 100vw, 751px\" \/><\/figure><p>I am proud to share thatMerck Foundation successfully conducted the\u00a0<strong>12<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Edition<\/strong>\u00a0of our annual conference,\u00a0<strong>\u201cMerck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary\u201d<\/strong>, in partnership with the\u00a0<strong>Government of The Gambia\u00a0<\/strong>in\u00a0<strong>Banjul, The Gambia<\/strong>. The conference was inaugurated by\u00a0<strong>H.E. Mr. MUHAMMAD B. S. JALLOW, Vice President of the Republic of The Gambia<\/strong>, together with\u00a0<strong>Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees<\/strong>, and\u00a0<strong>co-chaired by H.E. Mrs. FATOUMATTA BAH-BARROW, The First Lady of Gambia and Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother and me. The First Ladies of Burundi, Central Africa, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 and Pr\u00edncipe\u00a0<\/strong>alsojoined as the<strong>\u00a0Guests of Honor and Keynote Speakers.<\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"353\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-11-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8321\" style=\"width:1026px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-11-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-11-1-300x177.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"623\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-73-1024x623.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8322\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-73-1024x623.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-73-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-73-768x467.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-73-1536x934.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-73-600x365.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-73.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Watch the video of MFFLI Committee Meeting held during the 12 Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2025:<\/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=\"Dr. Rasha Kelej @ Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative (MFFLI) Committee - 2025\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sc2XFyU3s10?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>On\u00a0<strong>Day 2<\/strong>\u00a0of the Summit, the\u00a0<strong>Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Committee (MFFLI)<\/strong>\u00a0was conducted. During the meeting, we evaluated the impact of our ongoing programs and discussed the 2026 strategy to further strengthen healthcare and media capacity\u00a0and address critical social and health issues including Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Ending Child Marriage and FGM, Stopping GBV, Empowering Women, and raising awareness about health concerns such as Diabetes and Hypertension.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"594\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-242-1024x594.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-242-1024x594.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-242-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-242-768x445.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-242-1536x891.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-242-600x348.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-242.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Watch the video of Merck Foundation CEO during the MFFLI Committee Meeting in The Gambia:<\/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=\"Dr. Rasha Kelej intervention @ Gambia Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative (MFFLI) Committee &#039;25\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4jBpqYSWHTQ?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>We also launched our new children\u2019s storybook and its animation film adaptation titled\u00a0<strong>\u201cRay of Hope\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0to raise awareness about cancer, with a special focus on early detection, prevention and access to quality cancer care specially in childhood cancer. The storybook and animation film were released by\u00a0<strong>Merck Foundation Chairman and me<\/strong>, together with\u00a0<strong>First Ladies of Burundi, Central Africa, The Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria, S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 &amp; Pr\u00edncipe and Senegal.<\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"754\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-during-their-Luminary-25-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8324\" style=\"width:1026px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-during-their-Luminary-25-12.jpg 754w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-during-their-Luminary-25-12-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-during-their-Luminary-25-12-600x376.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 754px) 100vw, 754px\" \/><\/figure><p>The conference was conducted in a hybrid format and was attended by close to 1,600 participants including healthcare providers, policymakers and media from 52 English, French, and Portuguese speaking countries, who benefited from three parallel scientific and social sessions to advance healthcare capacity and awareness in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties. Additionally, the conference had 2.25 million viewers online from 53 countries, further amplifying its impact and extending access to knowledge and dialogue across continents.<\/p><p>The 12th Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2025 was streamed live across our social media platforms.<\/p><p>Kind Regards,<br><strong>Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.)<\/strong><br>CEO of Merck Foundation<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"730\" height=\"487\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-during-their-Luminary-2-71.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8325\" style=\"width:1026px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-during-their-Luminary-2-71.jpg 730w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-during-their-Luminary-2-71-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-during-their-Luminary-2-71-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"602\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-202-1024x602.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-202-1024x602.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-202-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-202-768x451.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-202-1536x902.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-202-600x353.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-202.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"526\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-191.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8327\" style=\"width:1026px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-191.jpg 788w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-191-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-191-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-191-600x401.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"785\" height=\"486\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8328\" style=\"width:1026px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-3.jpg 785w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-3-300x186.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-3-768x475.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-during-their-Africa-Asia-Luminary-in-Gambia-3-600x371.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 785px) 100vw, 785px\" \/><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am proud to share thatMerck Foundation successfully conducted the\u00a012th\u00a0Edition\u00a0of our annual conference,\u00a0\u201cMerck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary\u201d, in partnership with the\u00a0Government of The Gambia\u00a0in\u00a0Banjul, The Gambia. The conference was inaugurated by\u00a0H.E. Mr. MUHAMMAD B. S. JALLOW, Vice President of the Republic of The Gambia, together with\u00a0Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8320,"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":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-message"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Message from Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, on strengthening healthcare capacity and social development initiatives during the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Committee Meeting 2025 | 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=8319\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Message from Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, on strengthening healthcare capacity and social development initiatives during the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Committee Meeting 2025 | Rasha Kelej\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am proud to share thatMerck Foundation successfully conducted the\u00a012th\u00a0Edition\u00a0of our annual conference,\u00a0\u201cMerck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary\u201d, in partnership with the\u00a0Government of The Gambia\u00a0in\u00a0Banjul, The Gambia. The conference was inaugurated by\u00a0H.E. Mr. MUHAMMAD B. S. JALLOW, Vice President of the Republic of The Gambia, together with\u00a0Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/?p=8319\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rasha Kelej\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KelejRasha\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T11:32:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-05T11:32:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Main-_Merck-Foundation-Chairman-and-and-CEO-with-African-First-Ladies-for-MFFLI-committee-meeting-in-Gambia2-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"751\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"501\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" 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