Namibia has benefited from the association of the Office of the First Lady with the Merck Foundation by awarding 68 medical students scholarships.
This was said by Veronica Theron, the technical adviser of Namibia’s first lady, Monica Geingos, who attended the 10th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Hybrid Luminary Conference in Mumbai, India, last week.
Theron said Namibian students have been awarded scholarships to study obstetrics and gynaecology, oncology, fertility, diabetes, psychiatry, endocrinology, dermatology, rheumatology, and preventative cardiovascular medicine.
She said the Office of the First Lady has so far hosted two infertility conferences to sensitise members of the public to the matter.
The Merck Foundation is a philanthropic entity that aims to improve the health and well-being of people and advance their lives through science and technology.
The two-day conference was aimed at discussing strategies and solutions for the health challenges participating countries face, with the aim of contributing to improving access to quality and equitable healthcare solutions and building media and healthcare capacity in many critical and underserved medical fields.
African first ladies who have also been ambassadors of the Merck Foundation, shared reports of progress and impacts made in their respective countries.
Merck Foundation chief executive Rasha Kelej expressed the foundation’s commitment towards healthcare capacity advancement, patient care transformation and reshaping the public healthcare sector in 50 countries in Africa, Asia and beyond.
“We have come a long way and have together with our partners, made a significant impact by building healthcare and media capacity, breaking infertility stigma, empowering women – childless women in particular,” Kelej said.
The Merck Foundation has provided more than 1 700 scholarships to young doctors from 50 countries in 42 critical and underserved specialties.
“We are making history by training the first fertility specialists, embryologists, oncologists, diabetes, endocrinology, and respiratory experts in over 10 African countries,” Kelei said.
She said the foundation is also working to raise awareness on a wide range of sensitive and critical social and health issues.
Speaking at the same event, the chairman of Merck Foundation’s board of trustees, Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, said the foundation will continue to collaborate with African first ladies to address healthcare and challenges faced in their countries.
Eleven African first ladies and African ministers of different sectors from 25 countries attended the event.
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