{"id":8781,"date":"2026-04-08T13:45:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/?p=8781"},"modified":"2026-04-08T13:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T09:47:19","slug":"message-from-senator-dr-rasha-kelej-ceo-of-merck-foundation-and-president-of-merck-foundation-first-ladies-initiative-mffli-on-the-7th-edition-of-merck-foundation-first-ladies-initiative-mffli","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/?p=8781","title":{"rendered":"Message from Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative (MFFLI), on the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative &#8211; MFFLI Summit 2025 in Dubai"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"557\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/APO-Main-1024x557.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/APO-Main-1024x557.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/APO-Main-300x163.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/APO-Main-768x418.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/APO-Main-1536x835.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/APO-Main-600x326.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/APO-Main.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em><strong>Merck Foundation Chairman, CEO, and 14 First Ladies inaugurate the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative &#8211; MFFLI Summit in Dubai.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p>The&nbsp;<strong>7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative &#8211; MFFLI Summit 2025<\/strong>&nbsp;was conducted on&nbsp;<strong>19th and 20th June<\/strong>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<strong>Dubai, United Arab Emirates<\/strong>. The conference was inaugurated by&nbsp;<strong>Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, and myself,&nbsp;Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative,&nbsp;<\/strong>along with&nbsp;<strong>First Ladies of 14 African and Asian countries<\/strong>, who joined as our&nbsp;<strong>Guests of Honor and Keynote Speakers<\/strong>:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>H.E. Dr. ANA DIAS LOUREN\u00c7O,\u00a0The First Lady of the Republic of Angola<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Dr. D\u00c9BORA KATISA CARVALHO,\u00a0The First Lady of the Republic of Cabo Verde<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Madam BRIGITTE TOUADERA,\u00a0The First Lady of the Central African Republic<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Madam ZITA OLIGUI NGUEMA,\u00a0The First Lady of the Gabonese Republic<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Mrs. FATOUMATTA BAH-BARROW,\u00a0The First Lady of the Republic of The Gambia<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Mrs. LORDINA DRAMANI MAHAMA,\u00a0The First Lady of the Republic of Ghana<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Mrs. RACHEL RUTO E.G.H.,\u00a0The First Lady of the Republic of Kenya<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Mrs. KARTUMU YARTA BOAKAI,\u00a0The First Lady of the Republic of Liberia<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Mrs. SAJIDHA MOHAMED,\u00a0The First Lady of the Republic of Maldives<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO,\u00a0The First Lady of the Republic of Mozambique<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Senator OLUREMI TINUBU, CON,\u00a0The First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Mrs. MARIA DE FATIMA VILA NOVA,\u00a0The First Lady of the Democratic Republic of S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 and Pr\u00edncipe<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Madam MARIE KHONE FAYE,\u00a0The First Lady of the Republic of Senegal<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li><strong>H.E. Amai Dr. AUXILLIA MNANGAGWA,\u00a0The First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"623\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/161-1024x623.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8783\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/161-1024x623.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/161-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/161-768x467.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/161-1536x934.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/161-600x365.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/161.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><p>I am proud to conduct&nbsp;<strong>Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative &#8211; MFFLI Summit 2025<\/strong>, together with our&nbsp;<strong>Guests of Honor and Keynote Speakers<\/strong>, the&nbsp;<strong>First Ladies of 14 African and Asian Countries<\/strong>, who are also the&nbsp;<strong>Ambassadors of Merck Foundation &#8220;More Than a Mother&#8221;<\/strong>, to discuss our&nbsp;2025 strategy&nbsp;to build&nbsp;healthcare capacity&nbsp;and raise awareness on critical social and health issues like&nbsp;<strong>Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Stopping GBV, Ending Child Marriage &amp; FGM, Empowering Women, and Diabetes and Hypertension Awareness<\/strong>.<\/p><p>I am also honored to share that Merck Foundation has provided more than&nbsp;<strong>2280 scholarships&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>for young doctors from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved specialties<\/strong>. Many of our Merck Foundation Alumni are becoming the first specialists in their countries. Together with our Ambassadors and Partners, we are making history and transforming the patient care landscape across Africa and beyond.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"614\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-1024x614.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8784\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-1024x614.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-768x460.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-1536x921.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-600x360.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><p>During the Summit, we celebrated two important milestones: the&nbsp;<strong>8th Anniversary of Merck Foundation<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>13 years of Merck Foundation&#8217;s development programs<\/strong>&nbsp;that started in&nbsp;<strong>2012<\/strong>.<\/p><p>The&nbsp;first day&nbsp;featured a&nbsp;high-level panel discussion with the participating First Ladies of Africa and Asia, followed by a&nbsp;ministerial panel discussion with African Ministers and top healthcare experts. The&nbsp;second day&nbsp;included three parallel sessions covering&nbsp;Oncology, Fertility topics, and Merck Foundation Health Media Training, emphasizing the critical role of media in addressing social and health issues.<\/p><p>The hybrid format enabled&nbsp;<strong>over 6,000 participants from more than 70 countries<\/strong>&nbsp;to join the discussions safely and effectively.<\/p><p>Together with Africa&#8217;s and Asia&#8217;s First Ladies, we are transforming healthcare through:&nbsp;<strong>2,280+ scholarships for doctors across 52 countries in 44 specialties; training 3,700+ media professionals from more than 35 nations; awarding 950+ scholarships; and creating impactful media content including 30 songs, 8 storybooks, and 7 awareness animation films in multiple languages &#8211; collectively building healthier, stronger communities across our continents.<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>Together, we are shaping a healthier, stronger future for generations to come.<\/strong><\/p><p><a><\/a><a><strong>Link to Live Stream of Inaugural Session of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative \u2013 MFFLI Summit 2025:<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/19CGzbGbZM\/?mibextid=wwXIfr\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/19CGzbGbZM\/?mibextid=wwXIfr<\/a><\/p><p><strong>Kind Regards<br>Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej<\/strong><br><strong>CEO of Merck Foundation<\/strong><br><strong>President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative (MFFLI)<\/strong><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"614\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-1-1024x614.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8785\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-1-1024x614.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-1-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-1-768x460.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-1-1536x921.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-1-600x360.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/443-1.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"621\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/351-1024x621.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/351-1024x621.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/351-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/351-768x466.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/351-1536x932.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/351-600x364.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/351.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_08-PM2-1024x682.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_08-PM2-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_08-PM2-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_08-PM2-768x511.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_08-PM2-600x399.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_08-PM2.jpeg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"553\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_07-PM-12-1024x553.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_07-PM-12-1024x553.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_07-PM-12-300x162.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_07-PM-12-768x415.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_07-PM-12-600x324.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-11_27_07-PM-12.jpeg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"644\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/541-1024x644.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8789\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/541-1024x644.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/541-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/541-768x483.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/541-1536x966.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/541-600x377.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/541.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-8_28_33-AM2-1024x682.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8790\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-8_28_33-AM2-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-8_28_33-AM2-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-8_28_33-AM2-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-8_28_33-AM2-1536x1023.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-8_28_33-AM2-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-19-at-8_28_33-AM2.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merck Foundation Chairman, CEO, and 14 First Ladies inaugurate the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative &#8211; MFFLI Summit in Dubai. The&nbsp;7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative &#8211; MFFLI Summit 2025&nbsp;was conducted on&nbsp;19th and 20th June&nbsp;in&nbsp;Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The conference was inaugurated by&nbsp;Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8782,"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-8781","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 Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative (MFFLI), on the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative - MFFLI Summit 2025 in Dubai | 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=8781\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Message from Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative (MFFLI), on the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative - MFFLI Summit 2025 in Dubai | Rasha Kelej\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Merck Foundation Chairman, CEO, and 14 First Ladies inaugurate the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative &#8211; MFFLI Summit in Dubai. The&nbsp;7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative &#8211; MFFLI Summit 2025&nbsp;was conducted on&nbsp;19th and 20th June&nbsp;in&nbsp;Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 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