<\/p>\n
Merck Foundation <\/strong>(www.Merck-Foundation.com<\/a>), the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany has launched the Third Episode of their first-ever TV program \u2013 \u2018Our Africa by Merck Foundation\u2019<\/strong> on their social media handles.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u2018Our Africa by Merck Foundation\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0is a\u00a0pan African TV program\u00a0that is\u00a0conceptualized, produced, directed, and co-hosted by Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation<\/strong>\u00a0to feature African Fashion Designers, Singers, and prominent experts\u00a0from various domains with the aim to raise awareness and create a culture shift across Africa.<\/p>\n The TV program has been broadcasted on prime TV stations of many countries like\u00a0KTV in Kenya,\u00a0NTV in Uganda, and\u00a0GH One TV in Ghana\u00a0and\u00a0ZNBC in Zambia,\u00a0AYV in Sierra Leone\u00a0and\u00a0LTV, Liberia<\/strong>, and it immediately captured the attention and hearts of millions of viewers across Africa. \u201cOur Africa\u201d TV Program will soon be broadcast on\u00a0TV 3 in Ghana, BTV in Botswana, KTN in Kenya and QTV in The Gambia.<\/strong> \u201cOur Africa\u201d TV Program is currently on social media handles of\u00a0Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej ( <\/strong>Facebook: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3SfA0AF<\/a>, Instagram: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3YSasvq<\/a>, Twitter: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3jVPzAw <\/a>and YouTube: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3xoxZs7<\/a>) and Merck Foundation (<\/strong>Facebook: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3Ykd3hH<\/a>, Instagram: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3lsqM7q<\/a>, Twitter: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3Yo3y11<\/a> and YouTube: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3SGN568<\/a>).<\/p>\n The theme for the Third Episode is Breaking the Infertility Stigma, particularly around women, in Africa.<\/strong><\/p>\n Watch the Third Episode promo here: <\/strong>https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3Ymbhvz<\/a><\/p>\n Watch the Third Episode here: <\/strong>https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3IJ9SK4<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The show is\u00a0co-hosted\u00a0by\u00a0Brian Mulondo from Uganda.<\/p>\n Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation<\/strong> expressed, \u201cFirstly, I would like to thank all the viewers and followers for the amazing response we have received for our TV Program \u2018Our Africa\u2019. Our social media is flooded with lovely and inspiring messages from the viewers! This episode is indeed close to my heart as an African woman, as it is part of our signature campaign \u201cMore than a Mother\u201d, the work we have created by our fashion designers and artists all over Africa was very encouraging and kept pushing us to work harder to address this sensitive issue and empower infertile women through information, health and change of mindset. And of course, we will keep addressing more sensitive social and health issues to be the voice of the voiceless in our beloved Africa\u201d.<\/p>\n Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation<\/strong> further emphasized, \u201cThe messages of the designs are also focusing on the issue of male infertility and how fertility is a shared responsibility as it takes a man and woman to have a child. We have addressed this issue through our Fashion and Art with Purpose community. Together we can create a culture shift that will help our communities better understand and act on different issues. Through this episode, I also got a chance to thank my dear sisters, the African First Ladies<\/strong> who I have worked very closely with Merck Foundation for this Movement, as Ambassadors of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother<\/strong>.<\/p>\n I would also like to thank our viewers for the amazing response we have been receiving, this is indeed very inspiring and encouraging. Moreover, I would especially like to acknowledge the love we have been receiving from our social media followers, it is phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n Merck Foundation\u2019s iconic \u201cMore Than a Mother\u201d<\/strong> campaign started and led by Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej<\/strong> is a rallying movement to Break Infertility Stigma faced by women across the African continent.<\/p>\n \u201cMore Than a Mother\u2019 Movement is very close to my heart. Along with all the initiatives under this Movement, Merck Foundation also supports building healthcare capacity in Africa, therefore, I am happy to share that Merck Foundation has provided more than 435 scholarships to doctors from 39 countries<\/strong>, with the aim to advance women’s health by building Reproductive & Sexual care <\/strong>and Fertility Care Capacity<\/strong> in Africa and beyond. Moreover, we have trained more than 2200 media representatives from more than 35 countries to raise community awareness, creating a culture shift and breaking the stigma around infertility and infertile and childless women\u201d explained Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej.<\/strong><\/p>\n This third episode featured prominent personalities like Nontando Mposo<\/strong>, Editor-in-Chief, Glamour Magazine, South Africa<\/strong> and popular Singer Blaze<\/strong> from Mozambique<\/strong>. Fashion designers Anuja Bharti<\/strong> from Ghana<\/strong> and Alberto<\/strong> from Mozambique<\/strong> showcased their designs that displayed strong messages on #NoToInfertilityStigma <\/strong>and #MenToo<\/strong> can be the cause of infertility.<\/p>\n The episode also featured a song by H.E. George Weah, the President of Republic of Liberia <\/strong>created to support Merck Foundation \u201cMore Than a Mother\u201d movement. This song talks about encouraging men to support their wives during the journey of creating a happy family. Listen and watch the song here: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3Zf4wNG<\/a><\/p>\n Merck Foundation has also been empowering childless and infertile women through their \u201cEmpowering Berna\u201d<\/strong> initiative under Merck Foundation\u2019s \u201cMore Than a Mother\u201d movement. This initiative helps women who cannot be treated for infertility anymore by helping them to get trained to establish small businesses so that they can be independent and re-build their lives. Through \u2018Empowering Berna\u2019, the lives of many infertile women have been transformed in many African countries like Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Niger, Malawi and many more.<\/p>\n Merck Foundation<\/strong> in partnership with African First Ladies<\/strong> have also launched children\u2019s storybooks to emphasize strong family values of love and respect from a young age which will reflect on eliminating the stigma of infertility and resulted domestic violence in the future. The storybooks have been localized for each country to have a better connect with the young readers. David\u2019s Story, launched in partnership with African First Ladies of over 20 countries, is one of these interventions to break the stigma around infertile women and raises awareness about infertility prevention and male infertility. Read David\u2019s Story<\/strong> here: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3Zmgd55<\/a><\/p>\n Merck Foundation has also released many songs to raise awareness about infertility stigma under their \u201cMore Than a Mother\u201d campaign. Listen to some of the songs here:<\/p>\n Listen to all \u201cMore than a Mother\u201d songs here: https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3KRLMiD<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cTo address this important issue of breaking infertility stigma and also a wide range of other social issues, we annually launch Merck Foundation \u2018More Than a Mother\u2019 Awards in partnership<\/em> with<\/em> African First Ladies<\/strong>. I would also like to invite the African Community of Media, Fashion, Film making, and Musicians, students and potential talents in these fields to apply for the awards this year, in order to create a culture shift and break the silence about one or more of the following topics: Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Ending FGM, and\/ or Stopping GBV at all levels. I am looking forward to receiving their creative work on submit@merck-foundation.com<\/a>\u201d, added Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej.<\/strong><\/p>\n Watch the Promo of<\/em><\/strong> \u2018Our Africa by Merck Foundation\u2019 here: <\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3DSX81G<\/a><\/p>\n Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Merck Foundation.<\/i><\/p>\n More images here:\u00a0https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3Z8enVn<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Media contact:<\/strong> Join the conversation on our social media platforms below and let your voice be heard:<\/strong> About Merck Foundation:<\/strong> Source<\/a> Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com), the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany has launched the Third Episode of their first-ever TV program \u2013 \u2018Our Africa by Merck Foundation\u2019 on their social media handles. \u2018Our Africa by Merck Foundation\u2019\u00a0is a\u00a0pan African TV program\u00a0that is\u00a0conceptualized, produced, directed, and co-hosted by Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation\u00a0to feature […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":142770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/large\/590f88951bdceec","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2461],"tags":[7975,258,256,2462,4286,26702,7132,5265,31304,32900,5956,257,13229,32899,254,12009],"class_list":["post-142769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-botswana","tag-3rd","tag-africa","tag-africa-news","tag-botswana-news","tag-breaking","tag-episode","tag-focuses","tag-foundation","tag-infertility","tag-kelej","tag-merck","tag-news","tag-programs","tag-rasha","tag-south-africa-today","tag-stigma"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/files\/large\/590f88951bdceec","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/africa-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\nMehak Handa\u00a0
\nCommunity Awareness Program Manager\u00a0
\n+91\u00a09310087613\/ +91 9319606669\u00a0\u00a0
\nmehak.handa@external.merckgroup.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nFacebook:\u00a0https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3Ykd3hH<\/a>
\nTwitter:\u00a0https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3Yo3y11<\/a>
\nYouTube:\u00a0https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3jMdG4G<\/a>
\nInstagram:\u00a0https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3lsqM7q<\/a>
\nFlickr:\u00a0https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3JT8BSC<\/a>
\nWebsite:\u00a0Merck-Foundation.com<\/a>
\nDownload the Merck Foundation App:\u00a0https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3xeJMsI<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe Merck Foundation, established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology. Our efforts are primarily focused on improving access to quality & equitable healthcare solutions in underserved communities, building healthcare and scientific research capacity and empowering people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with a special focus on women and youth. All Merck Foundation press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck Foundation Website. Please visit\u00a0Merck-Foundation.com<\/a>\u00a0to read more. To know more, reach out to our social media: Merck Foundation (Merck-Foundation.com<\/a>); Facebook (https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3Ykd3hH<\/a>), Twitter (https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3Yo3y11<\/a>), Instagram (https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3lsqM7q<\/a>), YouTube (https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3jMdG4G<\/a>), and Flickr (https:\/\/apo-opa.info\/3JT8BSC<\/a>).<\/p>\n
\n
South Africa Today Africa \u2013 Southern Africa Botswana<\/a> News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"