{"id":9883,"date":"2026-07-01T15:22:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T11:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/?p=9883"},"modified":"2026-07-01T15:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T11:32:10","slug":"message-from-dr-rasha-kelej-ceo-of-merck-foundation-about-the-13th-merck-foundation-africa-asia-luminary-2026-inaugurated-by-the-chairman-of-merck-foundation-and-herself-together-with-12-first-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rasha-kelej.com\/?p=9883","title":{"rendered":"Message from Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, about the 13th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2026, inaugurated by the Chairman of Merck Foundation and herself, together with 12 First Ladies from African and Asian countries"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>

Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO together with First Ladies of Angola, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Gabon, The Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Mozambique, Nigeria and S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 and Pr\u00edncipe during the 13th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

We<\/strong> conducted the 13th <\/sup>Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2026 <\/strong>on 18th<\/sup> and<\/strong> 19th<\/sup> June,<\/strong> through an online videoconference.The annual conference was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees<\/strong>, myself<\/strong>along with The First Ladies of 12 African and Asian countries<\/strong>, who joined as the Guests of Honor<\/strong> and Keynote Speakers.<\/strong><\/p>

It was a great privilege to welcome our distinguished Guests of Honor and Keynote Speakers,<\/strong> The First Ladies of Africa and Asia, who are the Ambassadors of our \u2018More Than a Mother\u2019 campaign<\/strong> to the 13th<\/sup> Edition of the Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary. <\/strong>Together, we exchanged valuable experiences and engaged in meaningful discussions on the impact of our programs, which are aimed at transforming patient care and raising awareness of a wide range of critical social and health issues.<\/p>

\"\"<\/figure>

The First Ladies of African and Asian Countries, who joined the 13th Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary are:<\/strong><\/p>

  • H.E. Dr. ANA DIAS LOUREN\u00c7O,\u00a0First Lady of the Republic of Angola<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Mrs. KAONE BOKO,\u00a0First Lady of the Republic of Botswana<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Dr. D\u00c9BORA KATISA CARVALHO,\u00a0First Lady of the Republic of Cabo Verde<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Madam BRIGITTE TOUADERA,\u00a0First Lady of the Central African Republic<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Madam ZITA OLIGUI NGUEMA,\u00a0First Lady of the Gabonese Republic<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Mrs. FATOUMATTA BAH-BARROW,\u00a0First Lady of the Republic of The Gambia<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Mrs. RACHEL RUTO,\u00a0First Lady of the Republic of Kenya<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Mrs. KARTUMU YARTA BOAKAI,\u00a0First Lady of the Republic of Liberia<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Madam SAJIDHA MOHAMED,\u00a0First Lady of the Republic of Maldives<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO,\u00a0First Lady of the Republic of Mozambique<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Senator OLUREMI TINUBU, CON,\u00a0First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria<\/strong><\/li>\n\n
  • H.E. Mrs. MARIA DE FATIMA VILA NOVA,\u00a0First Lady of the Democratic Republic of S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 and Pr\u00edncipe<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>

    I am proud to share that we have provided more than 2600 scholarships for healthcare providers from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved specialties<\/strong>. Many of our Merck Foundation alumni have become the first specialists in their countries. Together with our Ambassadors and partners, we are making history and transforming the patient care landscape across Africa, Asia, and beyond.<\/p>

    During our Conference, we also marked World Infertility Awareness Month<\/strong>, observed annually in June, through our historic \u201cMerck Foundation More Than a Mother\u201d <\/strong>campaign, dedicated to empowering infertile and childless women by providing access to information, health, education, and change of mindset.<\/p>

    Also, I am pleased to share that, of the 2,600+ scholarships<\/strong> provided by Merck Foundation, more than 800 scholarships<\/strong> have been for healthcare providers in the fields of Fertility, Embryology, Sexual and Reproductive Medicine, Clinical Psychiatry, Women\u2019s Health, Urology, Laparoscopic Surgical Skills, and Family Medicine. These scholarships are helping strengthen fertility care services and improving access to women\u2019s health across 42 countries.\u201d<\/p>

    During the 13th<\/sup> Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary, we have marked the <\/strong>two important occasions were marked; the 9th<\/sup> Anniversary of Merck Foundation<\/strong> and 14 years of Merck Foundation\u2019s <\/strong>development programs that were started in 2012.<\/p>

    On the first day, the Inaugural Session of the 13th<\/sup> Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary<\/strong> took place, featuring a high-level panel of the participating First Ladies of Africa and Asia.<\/strong><\/p>

    The Day 1 was attended by over 800 participants<\/strong> including healthcare providers, policymakers, and media from 57 English-, French-, and Portuguese-speaking countries. Additionally, the conference was live streamed on social media, with over 220K+ social media viewers<\/strong>, further amplifying the impact and extending access to knowledge and dialogue across continents. The Day 2 of the conference will have two parallel scientific sessions covering Oncology and Fertility Topics.<\/p>

    The 13th Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary is streamed live on the Social Media Handles of Merck Foundation and Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation.<\/strong><\/p>

    Link to the Facebook live stream of Inaugural Session of Merck Foundation First Ladies High Level Panel: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/share\/v\/1ECXNpQsaJ\/<\/strong><\/p>

    We aretransforming the patient care landscape and making history together with our partners in Africa, Asia, and beyond, through:<\/p>

    • 2600+ Scholarships provided by Merck Foundation for healthcare providers from 52 Countries in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>

      Merck Foundation is also creating a culture shift and breaking the silence about a wide range of social and health issues in Africa and underserved communities through:<\/p>

      • 4000+ Media Representatives\u00a0<\/strong>from more than\u00a042 countries<\/strong>\u00a0trained by Merck Foundation to better raise awareness about different social and health issues.<\/li>\n\n
      • 8 Different Awards<\/strong>\u00a0launched annually for best Media coverage, Song, Films, and Fashion contributing to raise awareness and break the silence. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n
      • Around\u00a030 songs<\/strong>\u00a0to address health and social issues, by local singers across Africa in English, French, Portuguese, and local languages.<\/li>\n\n
      • 9 Children\u2019s Storybooks<\/strong>\u00a0in four languages – English, French, Portuguese, and Swahili.<\/li>\n\n
      • 6 Awareness Animation Films<\/strong>\u00a0in five languages – English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Swahili to raise awareness about breaking infertility stigma, supporting girl education and prevention and early detection of Diabetes, Hypertension & Cancer.<\/li>\n\n
      • Pan African TV Program “Our Africa by Merck Foundation\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0addressing Social and Health Issues in Africa through \u201cFashion and ART with Purpose\u201d Community.<\/li>\n\n
      • 1550+ Annual Scholarships awarded to African schoolgirls<\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a021 countries,\u00a0<\/strong>covering school fees and other essential educational expenses, including books, uniforms and transport,to help them to complete their studies and empower them to reach their full potential.<\/li>\n\n
      • 15 Social Media Channels<\/strong>\u00a0with more than\u00a09 Million Followers.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>

        Kind Regards,
        Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.)
        CEO of Merck Foundation 
        Chairperson of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO together with First Ladies of Angola, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Gabon, The Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Mozambique, Nigeria and S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 and Pr\u00edncipe during the 13th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary We conducted the 13th Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2026 on 18th and 19th June, through an online videoconference.The annual conference was inaugurated by Prof. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9884,"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 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