Merck Foundation concludes its first Merck Health Media training to break the stigma around infertility in Africa Latest News – NewsNow.lu



[ad_1]

Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, organized its first media training at Merck Health in Nairobi, Kenya.

Business Wire India

  Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO, Merck Foundation and President Merck over a mother with Jackline Mwende on the outside of the house built for her by the Merck Foundation
Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO, Merck Foundation and President Merck over a mother with Jackline Mwende outside the house built for her by the Merck Foundation

  (LR) Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO, Merck Foundation and President Merck more than a mother; Teacher. Koigi Kamau, President Kenya Fertility Society; Teacher. Oladapo Ashiru, President of the Africa Fertility Society, Nigeria; Dr. Tareq Muhammad Salahuddin, Editor-in-Chief of the Health Section, The Daily Star, Bangladesh; Ms. Modele Sarafa-Yusuf, Freelance Journalist and Media Personality, Nigeria

(L-R) Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President Merck more Than a Mother; Teacher. Koigi Kamau, President Kenya Fertility Society; Teacher. Oladapo Ashiru, President of the Africa Fertility Society, Nigeria; Dr. Tareq Muhammad Salahuddin, Editor-in-Chief of the Health Section, The Daily Star, Bangladesh; Ms. Modele Sarafa-Yusuf, Freelance Journalist and Media Personality, Nigeria

  Ms. Renee Ngamau, radio host / life coach, Capital FM; Ms. Carole Mandi, Founder / Publisher, Carole Mandi Media; Mr. Gardy Chacha, Senior Journalist, Health and Science, Standard Newspaper, Kenya (first prize winner, print media category); Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO, Merck Foundation and President Merck more than a mother

Ms. Renee Ngamau, radio host / life coach, Capital FM; Ms. Carole Mandi, Founder / Publisher, Carole Mandi Media; Mr. Gardy Chacha, Senior Journalist, Health and Science, Standard Newspaper, Kenya (first prize winner, print media category); Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO, Merck Foundation and President Merck more Than a Mother

  • The Merck Foundation provides training to more than 200 media journalists from 17 African countries
  • The Merck Foundation launches #MenToo and #NoForInfertilityStigma hashtags to break the stigma of Infertility
  • The Merck Foundation has launched three songs to raise awareness of male infertility by Octopizzo, Susan Owiyo, Rozzy and Tom Close, African singers from Kenya, Sierra Leone and Rwanda
  • Merck Foundation launches a call for applications for the Media Recognition Award "Merck more than a mother" 2018

Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany organized its first Merck Health Media training in Nairobi, Kenya. The training program brought together more than 200 journalists representing multimedia, print and online media from 17 African countries.

"I am excited to be conducting this training and I am pleased to see the presence of many media representatives.We have focused on international standards and media ethics to report Sensitive issues like infertility in Africa.It was designed to help journalists understand infertility issues and learn the best media practices to cover these problems.With the success of this program, we are looking forward to to extend to French-speaking African countries and Asian countries in 2018, " Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck more than a mother.

The program of The training was part of the "Merck more than a mother" community awareness program of and was organized to highlight the important role the media play in influencing our society. to create a cultural shift in order to break the stigma around infertility in general and infertile women in particular.
It has been addressed by the pillars of the media community of Asian and African countries, including India, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Kenya and South Africa. Also present were the best fertility experts from Africa.

During the training program, Merck Foundation announced the start of new hashtags #MenToo and #NoForInfertilityStigma to invite media from all over Africa to share their opinions and stories about social media on the subject.

This program also provided an excellent opportunity for African journalists to network with each other and work together to eradicate the stigma associated with infertility.

"The media community has benefited immensely from this training program and I appreciate the efforts of the Merck Foundation to bring together all African media and important stakeholders on a single platform, which will certainly bring about cultural change. needed in African communities, " pointed out Tom Mshindi, editor of the Nation Media Group.

" This is an excellent initiative of the Merck Foundation, which helped educate the media on prevention. of infertility and male infertility that are very critical for Africa, since about 85% of infertility is due to untreated infectious diseases. And also that the 39, infertility is preventable in many cases, "said Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, President of the Africa Fertility Society, Nigeria.

The program saw the participation of journalists from various African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Gambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Ethiopia, Botswana, Liberia, Cameroon, Burundi, Malawi , Mauritius, Zambia and Sierra Leona.

The list of speakers included Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation; Pauline Wanjiku Kibui, first female embryologist in Kenya ; Dr. Koigi Kamau, President, Kenya Fertility Society; Dr.Wanjiru Ndengwa, specialists in Gyn and IVF, Kenya; Dr. Anurag Batra, President and Editor-in-Chief, BW Business World & Exchange4media, India; Tom Mshindi, Editor-in-Chief, Nation Media Group; Jean-Luc Emile, Editor-in-chief and news presenter, Radio Plus and Teleplus, Maurice; Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, President of the Africa Fertility Society, Nigeria; Dr. Tareq Muhammad Salahuddin, editor-in-chief of the health section of the Daily Star, Bangladesh; Mathatha Tsedu, health reporter from South Africa and Renee Ngamau, Capital FM, Kenya.

"Not only the media but also the art have the ability and influence to make the problem feel, which further stimulates the emotions and leads to the commitment and then to the So, we collaborated with famous singers, Suzanna Owíyo and Octopizzo from Kenya, Tom Close from Rwanda and Rozzy from Sierra Leone to launch three thematic songs: "Warriors", "Life is Greater," & # 39; addressing the issue with a special focus on male infertility to encourage men to talk about their infertility and join the treatment journey with their wives.The songs were aired during the awards ceremony and I personally believe that they will bring significant added value to influence culture change that we advocate at all levels, "added . Rasha Kelej.

The Merck Foundation also hosted a 2017 "Merck More than One Mother" media recognition awards ceremony on July 9, 19659034. The awards were organized to highlight the role of the media in enhancing public engagement and understanding the stigma of infertility and the need to change its social perception in African communities. .

The Merck Foundation also announced the call for nominations for the 2018 "Merck More than a Mother" Media Recognition Award at the end of the ceremony and encouraged all African media to advocate for the campaign and apply for the competition.

About the campaign "Merck more than a mother"

In many cultures, childless women suffer from discrimination, stigmatization and ostracism. Their inability to have children causes great isolation, dislocation and aggression. & # 39; Merck More Than a Mother & # 39; empower these women to access information, health, change of mentality and economic empowerment.

As part of this campaign, we launched the "Empowering Berna" project in Africa to help infertile, childless women start their own businesses and become financially independent and stronger and happier. The project has benefited more than 1,000 women across the continent.

In addition, part of the campaign is our Merck Embryology & Fertility Training program, a three-month hands-on course to establish the platform of fertility specialists in Africa and Asia.

The Merck Foundation has provided more than 50 candidates, three months to six months of clinical and practical training to fertility specialists and embryologists in over 29 countries in Africa and Asia such as : Chad, Niger, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Nigeria, Benin, Mali, Burkina Fuso, Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cameron, Rwanda, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Gambia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The Merck Foundation enters the history of many African countries where it has never had fertility specialists or specialized fertility clinics before the intervention 'Merck More Than'. a Mother "to train the first fertility specialists such as; in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia, Niger, Chad and Guinea.

The Merck Foundation plan supported the establishment of the first public IVF centers in Ethiopia and Uganda by providing the necessary clinical and practical training for their staff. Merck Foundation also plans to support the establishment of Tanzania's first public IVF in the near future.

"Merck more than a mother" launched in 2015, is a program of the Merck Foundation, the pilot foundation number of our initiatives and programs in the field of health care construction and research capacity and improves access to equitable solutions. the conversation on our social media platforms below and let your voice be heard

Facebook: Merck Foundation
Twitter: @ Merckfoundation
Youtube: ] MerckFondation
website: www.merck-foundation.com

Register Merck Foundation Online community to exchange experiences and data with others caregivers, researchers [19659017] students, policy-makers and community members in Africa and Beyond www.merck-foundation.com Free registration About the Merck Foundation

The Merck Foundation, established in 2017, is the philanthropist arm of Merck KGaA Germany, aims to improve the health and well-being of people and to advance their lives through science and technology. Our efforts are focused primarily on improving access to innovative care in underserved communities, building scientific and health research capacity, and empowering people in STEMs. Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). All Merck Foundation press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time as they are available on the Merck Foundation website. Visit www.merck-foundation.com to learn more and / or sign up online to interact and share experiences with our registered members.

About Merck

Merck is a leading science and technology company in the fields of health, life sciences and performance materials. Nearly 53,000 employees work to develop life-enhancing and life-enhancing technologies – biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, advanced systems for scientific research and production, liquid crystal for smartphones and LCD TVs . In 2017, Merck achieved a turnover of 15.3 billion euros in 66 countries.

Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the group of publicly traded companies. Merck holds the worldwide rights to the name Merck and the trademark . The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.
Source: Merck Foundation

[ad_2]
Source link