Merck Foundation marks World ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) Day 2025 by providing 716 scholarships of Embryology, Fertility and Reproductive care in 41 countries in Africa and Asia
Merck Foundation launched 'More Than a Mother Animation Film' that raises awareness about breaking infertility stigma, infertility prevention and male infertility, watch here: https://apo-opa.co/44PGUEB
Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com), the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, marks 'World ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) Day 2025' together with African and Asian First Ladies, who are also the Ambassadors of 'Merck Foundation More Than a Mother' Campaign, by building and advancing fertility care capacity in Africa and Asia.
Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of 'More Than a Mother' emphasized, "At Merck Foundation we mark World Assisted Reproductive Technology Day by building Fertility and Reproductive Care capacity and empowering infertile women by improving their access to information, change of mindset and quality&equitable fertility care across Africa&Asia as part of our 'More than a Mother' campaign.
I am very proud to share that we have provided till today 716 scholarships of Embryology, Fertility and Sexual&Reproductive care to young doctors from 41 countries in Africa and Asia to be the local Embryologists, Fertility&Reproductive care experts in their countries. Moreover, many of our Alumni were trained to be the first local experts in their countries where they never had even a single local embryologist or fertility specialist before our program such as; The Gambia, Burundi, Guinea, Chad, Niger, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Malawi, Congo , Mozambique and more.
Together with African First Ladies, and other important partners, we are making history and reshaping the landscape of fertility&Reproductive care across Africa and beyond', added Dr. Kelej.
Merck Foundation 'More Than a Mother' is a powerful campaign that defines interventions to build quality and equitable Reproductive and Fertility Care Capacity, Break Infertility Stigma and Raise Awareness about Infertility Prevention and Male Infertility.
Merck Foundation has provided 2280 scholarships for doctors from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties.
'To give an overview, out of our total 716 scholarships for Fertility and Reproductive care, we have provided more than 324 Scholarships for clinical and practical training to Fertility Specialists and Embryologists, and more than 392 Scholarships for PG Diploma and Master Degree in Sexual and Reproductive Medicine, Clinical Psychiatry, Women's Health, Biotechnology of Human Assisted Reproduction&Embryology, Urology, Laparoscopic Surgical skills and Family Medicine to doctors from 41 countries across Africa and Asia. We are proud of this achievement', added Dr. Rasha Kelej.
According to WHO data, more than 180 million couples in developing countries - that is 1 in every 4 couple, suffer from infertility. In many cultures in Africa, infertility is a huge stigma. Women are solely blamed for failing to conceive and the social stigma of childlessness, especially for women leads to isolation and stigmatization and results in discrimination and ostracism. This mostly also leads to divorce or physical or psychological violence. As a part of 'More Than a Mother' Campaign, Merck Foundation has launched many initiatives to break this stigma and create a culture shift.
Merck Foundation has also been empowering childless and infertile women through their 'Empowering Berna' initiative under their 'More Than a Mother' movement. This initiative helps women who cannot be treated for infertility anymore by helping them get trained to establish small businesses so that they can be independent and rebuild their lives. Through 'Empowering Berna', the lives of many infertile women have been transformed in many African countries like Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Niger, Malawi, and many more.
'It's all about giving every woman the respect and the help she deserves to lead a fulfilling life, with or without a child,' added Dr. Kelej.
Moreover, Merck Foundation has trained more than 3700 media representatives from more than 35 countries to raise community awareness and break the stigma around infertility and infertile and childless women.
Merck Foundation in partnership with Africa's First Ladies, has also launched 'More Than Mother' Children's storybook to emphasize strong family values of love and respect from a young age which will reflect on eliminating the stigma of infertility and the resulted domestic violence in the future. The storybooks have been localized for each country and in three languages, English, French and Portuguese to better connect with the young readers. The book has also been adapted to an animation film.
Watch More Than a Mother Animation Film here: https://apo-opa.co/44PGUEB
Merck Foundation's pan African TV program 'Our Africa', that is conceptualized, produced, directed, and co-hosted by Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and features African Fashion Designers, Singers, and prominent experts from various domains with the aim to raise awareness and create a culture shift across Africa, has many episodes dedicated to raise awareness about infertility and breaking infertility stigma.
Watch the episodes here:
Episode 3: https://apo-opa.co/44OQc3I
Episode 5: https://apo-opa.co/4f6JZDz
Episode 10: https://apo-opa.co/4lgc7Wx
Merck Foundation has also released about 30 songs, many of these songs have been created with the aim to break the infertility stigma, as a part of their 'More Than a Mother' campaign. Listen to some of the songs here:
Watch, share&subscribe to the 'Plus qu'une MERE' composed and sung by Ms. Lucky-Lou, the daughter of The President and The First Lady of Burundi: https://apo-opa.co/46YM2aD
Watch, share&subscribe to the 'More Than a Mother' song by Cwesi Oteng and Adina from Ghana: https://apo-opa.co/3H5X2bP
Watch, share&subscribe to the 'More Than a Mother' song by Zambian Soul Singer Wezi: https://apo-opa.co/4f3DIIM
Watch, share&subscribe to the 'More Than a Mother' song by Sunita Daffeh from the Gambia: https://apo-opa.co/471MBAx
Listen to all 'More than a Mother' songs here:
https://apo-opa.co/4mai2wX
'To address this important issue of breaking infertility stigma and also a wide range of other social issues, we annually launch Merck Foundation 'More Than a Mother' Awards in partnership with African First Ladies. I would also like to invite the African Community of Media, Fashion, Filmmaking, and Musicians, students, and potential talents in these fields to apply for the awards this year by sharing their creative work on submit@merck-foundation.com ', concluded Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Merck Foundation.
Addtional Images:
https://apo-opa.co/4f3DDEY
Contact:
Mehak Handa
Community Awareness Program Manager
Phone: +91 9310087613/ +91 9319606669
Email: mehak.handa@external.merckgroup.com
Join the conversation on our social media platforms below and let your voice be heard:
Facebook: https://apo-opa.co/4f6SOgJ
X: https://apo-opa.co/4f9yYRV
YouTube: https://apo-opa.co/4lIrMyD
Instagram: https://apo-opa.co/4mgf4XZ
Threads: https://apo-opa.co/3IEKOaL
Flickr: https://apo-opa.co/4lIrQ1l
Website: www.Merck-Foundation.com
Download Merck Foundation App: https://apo-opa.co/3GR2fEp
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 and scientific research capacity 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 (https://apo-opa.co/4f6SOgJ), X (https://apo-opa.co/4f9yYRV), Instagram (https://apo-opa.co/4mgf4XZ), YouTube (https://apo-opa.co/4lIrMyD), Threads (https://apo-opa.co/3IEKOaL) and Flickr (https://apo-opa.co/4lIrQ1l).
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This year, we are delighted to celebrate 125 outstanding winners from 36 countries. It brings me joy to see such impressive participation not only from across Africa but also from several Asian and Latin American countries. Congratulations to all our incredible winners! It is a true pleasure to welcome you all as Merck Foundation Alumni. Let's continue to work together to raise awareness about critical social and health challenges, be the voice of the voiceless, and create culture shift in our communities.' Merck Foundation Media Awards launched in 2017, are announced annually, with over 640 Winners from 52 countries celebrated to date. The theme of the 'More Than a Mother' Media Awards is to raise awareness about important social issues like: Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Ending Female Genital Mutilation and/or Stopping Gender-Based Violence. 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Merck Foundation Africa Media Recognition 'More Than a Mother' Awards 2025 Theme for the awards: Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Ending FGM, and/or Stopping GBV at all levels. Who can apply: Journalists from Print, Radio, Online, and Multimedia platforms from the following groups: Southern African Countries West African Countries East African Countries French Speaking African Countries Portuguese Speaking African Countries Submission deadline: 30th September 2025. 2. Merck Foundation Media Recognition 'Diabetes&Hypertension' Awards 2025 Theme for the awards: Promoting a healthy lifestyle and raising awareness about prevention and early detection of Diabetes and Hypertension. Who can apply: Journalists from Print, Radio, Online, and Multimedia platforms from the following groups: Southern African Countries West African Countries East African Countries French Speaking African Countries Portuguese Speaking African Countries Latin American Countries Asian Countries Submission deadline: 30th October 2025. All entries are to be submitted to submit@ Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Merck Foundation. Join the conversation on our social media platforms below and let your voice be heard! Facebook: X: YouTube: Instagram: Threads: Flickr: Website: 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 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.
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