Merck Foundation First ladies./PHOTO; Courtesy
Across many parts of Africa, barriers such as limited access to education, stigma surrounding infertility, and shortages of specialised healthcare professionals continue to affect women’s well-being and opportunities.
For more than a decade, the Merck Foundation has been working with governments, healthcare institutions, and First Ladies across Africa and Asia to address these challenges.
The initiatives focus on scholarships, awareness campaigns, and education programmes designed to empower women and girls.
As the world marked International Women’s Day 2026, the foundation highlighted progress made through its programmes over the past 14 years.
It reaffirmed its commitment to expanding access to education, strengthening healthcare capacity, and challenging harmful social norms that affect women.
The Merck Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA.
The organisation works closely with First Ladies from Africa and Asia as well as ministries responsible for health, education, communication, and gender, to advance programmes that support women’s empowerment and girls’ education.
According to Rasha Kelej, empowering women and girls has remained central to the foundation’s work since its establishment.
“At Merck Foundation, empowering women and girls is not confined to a single day; rather, it is embedded in everything we do. It shapes our vision and guides our programmes,” said Kelej.
She noted that together with First Ladies who serve as ambassadors of the foundation, the organisation has marked the global celebration for 14 consecutive years by implementing initiatives such as the More Than a Mother campaign, the Merck Foundation Scholarships Programme, the Educating Linda initiative, and its STEM programme.
The More Than a Mother campaign focuses on supporting infertile and childless women.
The programme seeks to improve access to information, education, and healthcare while addressing stigma associated with infertility.
The Merck Foundation Scholarships Programme has also played a key role in strengthening healthcare systems. The initiative supports medical professionals from underserved regions through specialised training.
To date, the programme has awarded more than 2,500 scholarships to healthcare providers from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties.
Kelej said nearly half of the scholarships about 1,200 have been awarded to women medical graduates, helping to build a new generation of female healthcare professionals.
“I am proud that out of the 2,500-plus scholarships provided across 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved specialties, about 1,200 nearly 50 percent have been awarded to women medical graduates, empowering them to become future healthcare experts and leaders,” she said.
She added that the foundation has also provided more than 770 scholarships to young healthcare providers. The training aims to strengthen reproductive and sexual health services and improve fertility care in underserved regions.
Beyond healthcare, the foundation continues to promote education as a pathway to women’s empowerment.
Through the Educating Linda programme, the Merck Foundation, together with African First Ladies, has so far provided more than 1,200 annual scholarships to underprivileged schoolgirls from 19 African countries.
The support helps the girls continue and complete their education.
Kelej said investing in girls’ education remains one of the most effective ways to address poverty and gender inequality.
The foundation is also promoting women’s participation in science and technology through its STEM initiatives and the annual Merck Foundation Africa Research Summit.
The awards recognise African women researchers and young scientists for their contributions to research and innovation.
“Our goal is to empower women and young African researchers, enhance their research capacity, and promote their contributions to STEM,” Kelej said.
In addition, the foundation works with First Ladies across Africa and Asia to organise annual awards in media, film, music, and fashion. These initiatives aim to raise awareness about social issues affecting women and girls.
The campaigns address topics such as ending female genital mutilation, preventing child marriage, combating infertility stigma, and tackling gender-based violence.
Through storytelling, animation films, songs, and its television programme Our Africa by Merck Foundation, the organisation continues to highlight the importance of supporting girls’ education and advancing gender equality across communities.
Help us tell more untold stories of African Philanthropy!
To DONATE or Pledge: CLICK HERE
