5th Edition of “Merck Africa Asia Luminary” was conducted under the patronage of The President of Senegal, H.E. MACKY SALL; Merck foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com) also celebrated 350^th Anniversary of Merck and the 1^st anniversary of Merck Foundation during their Luminary; 09 African First Ladies, 12 Ministers of Health and More than 500 African healthcare providers from Africa and Asia benefited from several medical education sessions. 

Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck Germany conducted the 5th Edition of “Merck Africa Asia Luminary” under the patronage of The President of The Republic of Senegal, H.E. MACKY SALL and The First Lady of Senegal, H.E. MARIEME FAYE SALL, and in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Senegal.

During his closing speech, The President of Senegal, H.E. MACKY SALL emphasized “I am very glad to be hosting this important conference in Senegal, as it will help explore many partnership opportunities and introduce new frameworks for health capacity building in collaboration with our Ministry of health and Merck Foundation and other ministries of health and healthcare societies & institutions across the world. I personally urge African Governments to prioritize investing on healthcare capacity building.”

Prof. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of the Executive Board and Family Board of E-Merck KG emphasized, “Merck is a value driven company and that is one of the reasons why Merck through its foundation is committed to support the social and economic development of Africa, Asia and developing countries by building healthcare capacity and improving access to innovative and equitable healthcare in the continent.”

Merck Foundation CEO, Dr. Rasha Kelej welcomed the First Ladies as Merck Foundation Partners and Ambassadors of Merck More Than a Mother to empower infertile women and build healthcare capacity in their countries.

“We are very proud to have the support of H.E. MACKY SALL to enable us to realize our vision to change the landscape of Cancer care in Senegal and rest of Africa“, Dr. Kelej added.

The First Lady of Senegal, H.E. MARIEME FAYE SALL delivered the keynote speech at the Luminary and welcomed the partnership with Merck Foundation to build healthcare capacity, along with

H.E. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Botswana;

H.E. DENISE NKURUNZIZA, The First Lady of the Republic of Burundi;

H.E. BRIGITTE TOUADERA, The First Lady of Central Africa Republic;

H.E. HINDA DEBY ITNO, The First Lady of Chad;

H.E. REBECCA NAA OKAIKOR AKUFO-ADDO, The First Lady of Ghana;

H.E. AISSATA ISSOUFOU MAHAMADOU, The First Lady of Niger;

H.E. FATIMA MAADA BIO, The First Lady of Sierra Leone and

H.E. ESTHER LUNGU, The First Lady of Zambia

They have also announced their acceptance to be appointed as Ambassadors of Merck More Than a Mother campaign to empower infertile women and break the stigma of infertility in their countries.

During the conference, Merck Foundation also celebrated two important occasions; the 350th Anniversary of Merck and the 1st Anniversary of Merck Foundation.

A high level Ministerial panel also took place.

During the panel ministers of health discussed “Building Fertility and cancer care capacity and breaking the Infertility Stigma in Africa and Asia”. The panel discussion involved Hon. Abdoulaye Diouf SARR, Minister of Health and Social Action, of Sénégal; Hon. Sarah Opendi, Minister of State for Health of Uganda; Hon Dr Alfred Madigele - Minister of Health and Wellness, the Republic of Botswana, Hon. Dr. Idi Illiassou Maïnassara, Minister of Public Health, of the Niger; Hon. Aziz Mahamat Saleh Ahmat, Minister of Public Health, of Chad; Hon. Dr. Pierre Somse, Minister of Health and Population, Central African Republic; Hon. Dr. Alpha Tejan Wurie, Minister of Health and Sanitation, of Sierra Leone; Hon. Dr. Isatou Touray, Minister for Health and Social Welfare, of The Gambia, Hon. Mariama Sylla, Minister of Social Action, Child and Women promotion, Guinee, Hon. Aboubakar Assidikh Tchoroma, Minister of National Education and Civic Promotion, Chad and Hon. Julieta Kavetuna, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, of Namibia .

More than 58 countries participated in the Luminary, the list included: Angola, Benin, Burkina Fuso, Bangladesh, Botswana, Burundi, Canada, Cameroon, Cambodia, Chad, Central African Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, DR Congo, Congo, Brazzaville,  Ethiopia, Egypt, France, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Conakry, Gabon, Ghana, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia Mali, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Malaysia, Nigeria, Niger, Nepal Philippines, Rwanda, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Togo, UAE, Uganda, USA, UK, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.