From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has restated commitment to any cause that will herald improved health and education opportunities for women and girls in Nigeria and, by extension, Africa.
Senator Tinubu stated this at the 7th edition of the Merck Foundation First Ladies’ Initiative (MFFLI) Summit in Dubai, which brought together First Ladies from 14 countries across Asia and Africa, including Nigeria.
The First Ladies, in their individual remarks, highlighted the efforts and things they have achieved over the years in areas of women and girls education and empowerment, as well as the support they received from Merck Foundation that assist them achieve that.
The Nigeria’s First Lady, in her speech, appreciated the officials of the Foundation for the recent visit to her office, which provided an indept insight into the impactful and well-driven programmes of Merck Foundation.
She pointed to several laudable community awareness programmes provided by Merck Foundation designed to address critical social issues such as gender-based violence, infertility stigma, and female genital mutilation, among others.
“These initiatives include children’s story books, animation films, health media training, and awards, among others to drive the needed change.”
She said that Merck Foundation has been instrumental in enhancing patient care across Nigeria and beyond. “Available records indicated that Merck Foundation provided 63 scholarships have been provided for our young Nigerian doctors in various critical and underserved specialities.
“Out of the 63 opportunities, 8 was allocated to fertility, embriology, as well as sexual and reproduction health. Similarly, opportunities were also provided for Nigerian doctors for oncology research, diabetes, endocrinology, cardiology, and weight management.
“I believe in empowering girls through education as it plays a crucial role in building stronger and healthier nations. I assure you that through the platform of ‘renewed hope initiative’, we would continue to make interventions in education and youth empowerment, prioritizing girl-child education.”
She appreciated the reinvigorated partnership with Merck Foundation that would expectedly strengthen health care capacity, media capacity, break infertility and stigmatization, and provide support for girl-child education in Nigeria.
Chief Executive Officer of Merck Foundation, Dr. Rasha Kelej, in her welcome address, explained that the Summit was designed to celebrate the efforts of the First Ladies to the cause of women empowerment.
She stated that it was also an opportunity for the participants to dialogue, share experiences and exchange ideas on how to record more result as regards issues that concern stigmatization, infertility, empowerment of health workforce, among others.
She harped on the importance of girl child education, saying it is critical to saving girls from early child marriage and other practices, as well as attaining their full potential.
The chairman of both the Executive Board of E. Merck KG and Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, Prof. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp said the summit was a powerful symbol of what the Foundation and First Ladies could accomplish when they unite for a shared vision and purpose.
He praised the First Ladies for their unwavering commitment to healthcare and social development, further noting that the scholarship initiative has helped to transform healthcare in underserved regions by building a new generation of specialists.
He stated that Africa’s challenges extend beyond financial limitations, emphasizing that the lack of trained healthcare professionals remains a major barrier to quality care.
“Together with our partners, we have strengthened healthcare capacity by providing 2,270 scholarships for one- and two-year Master’s degrees in 44 underserved medical specialities across 52 countries,” he said.