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From Fred Ezeh, in Dar es Salaam
First ladies from African Countries have intensified the push for more financial and educational empowerment for women and girls in Africa, stressing that only such empowerment could guarantee a healthy and prosperous Africa.
They predicted that the desired socioeconomic growth and development would continue to elude the continent until adequate care and investment is made in the health and education sectors. They said such provision could result in improved health care and education for the people, particularly women and girls.
President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, championed the campaign at the 11th Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary, in Dar es Salam, Tanzania, with special focus on sexual reproductive health, family planning, child care and several other areas of female health care.
She acknowledged the great impact of the 12 years of developmental activities by Merck Foundation across Africa and beyond, advocating more actions from other philanthropists that could result in improved health care for African women and girls.
She further highlighted some of the gains of Merck Foundation’s intervention in the country’s health care system, particularly in areas of human capital development, infrastructural and logistics support, as well as several other interventions with visible impacts on the country’s health sector.
One after another, the First Ladies from different countries shared some of the gains they have made from their partnership with the Merck Foundation, particularly in the areas of health manpower training, strengthening the systems, and several other areas.
In her remarks, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, said the annual Luminary had become an opportunity for global leaders, academia, media and several other stakeholders to further discussions on the health and economic empowerment of African women.
She said the First Ladies of African and Asian countries, have become ambassadors of the “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother,” due to the roles they have played over the years to change the narrative as regards infertility management, family planning, and general knowledge about reproductive health.
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“Together, we have shared experiences and engaged in meaningful discussions on the impact of our programmes, aimed at transforming patient care and raising awareness on a wide range of critical social and health issues,” she said.
She, however, renewed the commitment of Merck Foundation to any cause that will herald improved health care for women and girls, thus reducing maternal mortality, and also giving hope to the hopeless.
Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, Prof. Frank Stangenberg Haverkamp, in his remarks, said Merck Foundation had become a reputable organisation for transforming the patient care landscape, and making history together with their partners in Africa, Asia, and beyond.
He said there had been over 2000 scholarships provided by the Foundation for doctors from 52 countries in 42 critical and underserved medical specialties.
He added that the Foundation has also created a culture shift and broken the silence about a wide range of social and health issues in Africa and underserved communities.
“Over 3500 media professionals from more than 35 countries have been trained to better raise awareness about different social and health issues; eight different awards have been launched annually for best media coverage, fashion designers, films, and songs.
“Similarly, around 30 songs have been produced to address health and social issues by local singers across Africa, while eight children storybooks in three languages, English, French, and Portuguese, have been produced. There have been seven awareness animation films in five languages, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Swahili, to raise awareness about prevention and early detection of diabetes and hypertension, and supporting girl education.
First Ladies of Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of The Congo, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Maldives, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Zimbabwe and Zanzibar, were the guests of honour and keynote speakers for the 11th edition of the annual conference.
Meanwhile, more than 6,000 healthcare providers, policymakers and media from over 70 English, French, Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries attended the Luminary through hybrid model to benefit from five parallel scientific and social sessions to advance healthcare capacity and awareness in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties.
