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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Merck Foundation, a philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA, Germany, has made a fresh push for urgent actions from African leaders and other stakeholders in health care services in the continent to tackle the issue of growing cases of infertility in the continent and the stigma that accompany such situation.
A statement from the Foundation indicated that the Chairman of both Executive Board of
E. Merck KG and Merck Foundation, Board of Trustees, Dr. Frank Stangerberg-Haverkamp, launched campaign for such action at the 10th Edition of the Africa Asia Luminary conference in India.
Dr. Stangerberg-Haverkamp, said that many women in the continent are going into depression because of the stigma associated with infertility, hence he solicited the support and commitment of African leaders particularly their wives to the campaign that would improve the situation of women with infertility cases. “Ignorance is one the challenge that these women face.”
He commended the efforts put in so far by African First Ladies and partners towards ending infertility, Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), appealing that they keep up the work and share their success stories towards ending infertility and gender-based violence with the public.
He said the Merck Foundation has been in forefront in improving patient care in different countries across Africa and Asia, and had also devoted huge resources in manpower development.
“We have trained several doctors in different Specialties, and the doctors are performing tremendously to improve health care in their various country of birth. We have improved the overall health and development in most countries across Africa and Asia.
Director of Tata Memorial Centre, India, Prof. Rajemdra Badwe, advised medical experts to always utilize their training in cancer care to improve the life of their patients.
He urged the practitioners to always understand the magnitude of the problems patients are facing in terms of cancer care management.
He noted that doctors have been trained in cancer specialization and other related practices, and the training has created excellent guidelines which are sustainable and easily complemented by experienced personnel.
Prof. Badwe suggested that different members of the society should be captured in cancer management discouraging segregation in terms of treatment of both the rich and poor in cancer management. “Patients should be given equal attention and treatment irrespective of their status in the society”, he said.
Prof. Krishna Vishwa Vidyapweth, a Specialist in Head, Breast Cancer Surgery, added that the Indian government have been at the forefront of preventive health care.
“We will continue to render our support towards training more doctors and health care providers. We will do our best to keep spreading affordable health care to everyone”, he said.
