Merck Foundation CEO and Mozambique First Lady Sign MoU to Underscore Their Long-Term Partnership to Strengthen Healthcare Capacity During the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Summit 2025

Business Wire India

 

It was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, and Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation & President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative and H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO, The First Lady of Mozambique and Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother” along with First Ladies of Angola, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Zimbabwe.

 

Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej expressed, “It was a privilege to welcome my dear sister H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO, The First Lady of Mozambique and officially appoint her to be the Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” at 7^th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative - MFFLI Summit 2025. During our meeting, we underscored our commitment towards building healthcare capacity and transforming patient care landscape by providing 100 scholarships for local Mozambican doctors in 42 critical and underserved specialties, through our long-term partnership. We also discussed about addressing critical social and health issues in the country including breaking the infertility stigma and supporting girl education. We also signed an MoU to underscore our long-term partnership”.

 

H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO, The First Lady of Mozambique & Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother, stated, “It was indeed a great pleasure to be a part of the prestigious conference together with my dear sisters, First Ladies of Africa and Asia, and hearing from them about the impact of Merck Foundation programs in their respective countries. I am proud to share that 18 scholarships have been provided to our local doctors for Diabetes, Endocrinology, Acute Medicine, Infectious diseases, and Pain Management. We plan to provide a total of 100 scholarships through our partnership”.  

 

Watch the Speech of The First Lady of Mozambique & Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother during the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Summit 2025 here: https://youtu.be/Typemdv03Q4

 

Watch the video of Merck Foundation CEO, Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej receiving H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO, The First Lady of Mozambique & Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”: https://youtu.be/jrGqxzEQ8rE

 

On day 2 of the Summit, Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative - MFFLI committee meeting was conducted between The First Ladies of Africa and Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO, where the African and Asian First Ladies shared the impact report of Merck Foundation programs in their respective countries, and future strategy was discussed.

Watch the video of MFFLI committee meeting: https://youtu.be/G2YlJgkagNQ

 

During the Summit, a strategy meeting between The First Lady of Mozambique and Merck Foundation CEO, Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, was also held to sign the MoU to underscore their long-term partnership and continue their on-going programs and define strategies to further build healthcare and media capacity in Mozambique to address a wide range of social and health issues.

Watch video of the meeting here: https://youtu.be/kj-pPMHz29o

 

“Since 2012, Merck Foundation has been deeply committed to building healthcare capacity across Africa and beyond. To date, we have provided 2280 scholarships for young doctors from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved specialties. Very soon, we will be enrolling more doctors from Mozambique in various specialties, through our partnership with the First Lady and the Ministry of Health,” shared Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej.

 

Merck Foundation has also announced the Call for applications for their 8 important awards in partnership with The First Lady of Mozambique for Media, Musicians, Fashion Designers, Filmmakers, students, and new potential talents in these fields.

 

The 7^th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative was streamed live on the social media handles of Merck Foundation and Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation:

Link to the YouTube live stream of Inaugural Session of Merck Foundation First Ladies High Level Panel: https://youtube.com/live/1xIeh0TCAuw

@Merck Foundation: Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

@Rasha Kelej: Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

 

Merck Foundation is transforming the Patient care landscape and making history together with their partners in Africa, Asia, and beyond, through:

• 2280+ Scholarships provided by Merck Foundation for doctors from 52 Countries in more than 44 critical and underserved medical specialties.  

 

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:

 

• 3700+ Media Persons from more than 35 countries trained to better raise awareness about different social and health issues
• 8 Different Awards launched annually for best media coverage, fashion designers, films, and songs
• Around 30 songs to address health and social issues, by local singers across Africa
• 8 Children’s Storybooks in three languages - English, French, and Portuguese
• 7 Awareness Animation films in five languages - English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Swahili to raise awareness about prevention and early detection of Diabetes & Hypertension and supporting girl education.
• Pan African TV Program "Our Africa by Merck Foundation” addressing Social and Health Issues in Africa through “Fashion and ART with Purpose” Community
• 950+ Scholarships provided to high performing but under-privileged African schoolgirls to empower them to complete their studies
• 15 Social Media Channels with more than 8 Million Followers.

 

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https://www.merck-foundation.com/MF_StoreRedirection

 

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Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, Merck Foundation CEO with H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO, The First Lady of Mozambique at the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Summit

About Merck Foundation

 

The Merck Foundation, established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology. Our efforts are primarily focused on improving access to quality & equitable healthcare solutions in underserved communities, building healthcare & scientific research capacity, empowering girls in education and empowering people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with a special focus on women and youth. All Merck Foundation press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Foundation Website.  Please visit www.merck-foundation.com to read more. Follow the social media of Merck Foundation: Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, Threads, and Flickr.

 

The Merck Foundation is dedicated to improving social and health outcomes for communities in need. While it collaborates with various partners, including governments to achieve its humanitarian goals, the foundation remains strictly neutral in political matters. It does not engage in or support any political activities, elections, or regimes, focusing solely on its mission to elevate humanity and enhance well-being while maintaining a strict non-political stance in all of its endeavors.