Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com), the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, conducted the 7^th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative - MFFLI Summit 2025 recently. 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. ANA DIAS LOURENÇO, The First Lady of the Republic of Angola & Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”, along with First Ladies of Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Mozambique, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, and Zimbabwe.

Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation expressed, “I am very happy to have welcomed my dear sister, H.E. Dr. ANA DIAS LOURENÇO, First Lady of the Republic of Angola & Ambassador of Merck Foundation ‘More Than a Mother’ for the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Summit 2025. We had a very meaningful discussion and will soon be initiating our joint programs in the country to transform the public healthcare landscape and raise awareness about a wide range of social health issues.”

H.E. Dr. ANA DIAS LOURENÇO, First Lady of the Republic of Angola & Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother” said, “I am looking forward to start the implementation of the Educating Linda Program which aims to empower girls through education and end child marriage, this program is very close to my heart as I consider it one of my main objectives as the First Lady of Angola; and as an African woman, I strongly believe that girl Education is one of the most critical areas of women empowerment. Moreover, I am also looking forward to providing scholarships for our local doctors to build and strengthen healthcare capacity in our country.”

Watch the Speech of The First Lady of Angola & Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother during the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Summit 2025 here: https://apo-opa.co/47tdbD2

Watch the video of Merck Foundation CEO, Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej receiving H.E. Dr. ANA DIAS LOURENÇO, The First Lady of the Republic of Angola & Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”: https://apo-opa.co/46ahYXw

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://apo-opa.co/468Ry8z

During the Summit, a strategy meeting between Merck Foundation CEO, Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej and  The First Lady of Angola was also held to define strategies to build healthcare and media capacity in Angola to address a wide range of social and health issues.

Watch video of the meeting here: https://apo-opa.co/45S7hdt

“Merck Foundation has always believed in the importance of building healthcare capacity and has been working for it since 2012. We have so far provided 2280 scholarships for doctors from 52 countries in 44 underserved medical specialties. We will soon be enrolling doctors from Angola in various medical specialties in partnership with the First Lady and Ministry of Health of Angola", added Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej.

Merck Foundation together with the office of  First Lady of Angola has organized 3 editions of their Online Health Media Training to encourage the journalist to be the voice of the voiceless and create a culture shift around critical social issues like supporting girl education, ending GBV and FGM, women empowerment, and health issues like diabetes and hypertension awareness.

Merck Foundation also announced the Call for applications for their 8 important awards in partnership with The First Lady of Angola 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:

@ Merck Foundation: Facebook (http://apo-opa.co/4pe3EGf), X (http://apo-opa.co/3JPQsr6), Instagram (http://apo-opa.co/46bYX7k), and YouTube (http://apo-opa.co/4pbbW1F).

@ Rasha Kelej: Facebook (http://apo-opa.co/4mVMxaS), X (http://apo-opa.co/47s6Zv3), Instagram (http://apo-opa.co/4mLGqpm), and YouTube (http://apo-opa.co/4pi5RAO).

Link to the YouTube live stream of Inaugural Session of Merck Foundation First Ladies High Level Panel: https://apo-opa.co/4mRvKWe

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.