African First Ladies join hands in the fight against Infertility and Stigma

African First Ladies continue to wage their war against stigmatisation of women battling infertility yearning for societal change while initiating discussions on how to integrate infertility treatment into the public healthcare systems. By Kudakwashe Pembere Namibia’s First Lady Mrs. Monica Geingos at the 9th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary Conference said they are witnessing a high number of women being rejected by their partners due to infertility issues thus resorting to alcohol abuse. “We had to intervene on psychosocial issues like substance abuse, but also refer them to psychological treatment…

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Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2022 Kicks Off In Dubai

THE 9th edition of the Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary, a yearly educational conference conducted to contribute to Africa and Asia’s socio-economic development, has commenced in Dubai amidst growing calls for governments in Africa to make infertility treatment affordable to the general citizenry. By Michael Gwarisa The two day conference, a hybrid meeting is being attended by over 6000 delegates physically and online and these include healthcare providers, Policy makers, academia, researchers and health media from more than 70 English, French and Portuguese speaking countries. Giving her introductory remarks, Merck…

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Merck Foundation together with African First Ladies mark “World Heart Day 2022” by providing 720 scholarships of Preventative Cardiovascular, Diabetes and Endocrinology for doctors from 45 countries

Merck Foundation in partnership with African First Ladies and Ministries of Health provided more than 720 scholarships of one–year Post–Graduate Diploma and two–year Master Degree in Preventative CardiovascularMedicine, Diabetes and Endocrinology to doctors from 45 countries in Africa, Asia and beyond. These scholarships are included in the total 1450 scholarships Merck Foundation provided to doctors from 47 countries in 32 critical and underserved medical specialties such as oncology, fertility, respiratory medicine, acute medicine, orthopaedic and many more. Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany marks “World Heart Day…

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Infertility on the rise in Zimbabwean Men

THERE is currently an increase in infertility in Zimbabwe owing to a myriad of factors ranging from anatomical, environmental, dietary/weight and physiological factors, reproductive health experts have warned. By Michael Gwarisa Infertility, which is defined clinically as failure to conceive after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse affects approximately 48.5 million couples globally. Data from a cross section study by consultant Obstetrician, Dr Mugove Madziyire et al which explored “The causes of infertility in women presenting to gynaecology clinics in Harare, Zimbabwe” shows that half of the causes…

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Zimbabwe Health Journalists Trained On Sensible Infertility Reporting

ZIMBABWE’S First Lady, Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa in partnership with the Merck Foundation and the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), hosted a half day training to sensitise Zimbabwean Journalists on issues around fertility and infertility. By Michael Gwarisa The development comes in the midst of a growing burden in fertility related complications in both women and men in Sub-Saharan Africa largely driven by lifestyle related health conditions and Non Communicable diseases (NCDs). Giving her remarks during the training, Merck Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Dr Rasha Kelej said there were numerous risk…

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Merck Foundation Trains 100 African Cardiovascular Experts

Merck Foundation, a philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany in partnership with African First Ladies, Ministries of Health, Medical Societies, and Academia celebrated the World Heart Day by providing one-year Post-Graduate Diploma and two-year Master degree in Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine to 100 doctors from 25 countries in Africa and Asia. By Patricia Mashiri The initiative shows commitment towards building Cardiovascular preventive care capacity in Africa, Asia and beyond. Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation said he was proud of the training they have been providing so far in…

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