Merck takes Corporate Social Responsibility- CSR very seriously, they have demonstrated a long-term commitment to Africa’s social and economic development; they have engaged with communities to understand the challenges and explore solutions and develop the appropriate programs with appropriate engagement of local stakeholders and partners.
She won the award of women empowerment recently in Spain as a recognition of Merck More than a mother campaign development and implementation in Africa as well as empowering women in the fields of research and healthcare
She explained during a “Merck more than a Mother” recent event in Abidjan, “I am extremely proud to work for Merck, the world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company which established in 1668. All through generations, CSR is part of Merck’s DNA. Merck empowered me and my team to dedicate our time and resources for only one objective, to add a concrete and measurable value to societies and scientific community to improve access to innovative and equitable healthcare solutions for Africa and developing countries” said Dr. Kelej, Chief Social Officer Merck.
I learnt a lot from working closely with Prof. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, the chairman of the Executive Board and The Family Board of Merck, who has a great passion for Africa, and dedicates a large part of his personal time to visit African countries to contribute to all CSR programs to fulfil his commitment to build Healthcare capacity and empower youth and women in the field of Healthcare and research. He is been awarded with “HE for She” for Women Empowerment Award.
I am also very happy to work closely with Dr. Belen Garijo, CEO of Merck healthcare, my role model, she is a strong, smart, elegant and successful woman. She inspires me and inspire many other women. She also very dedicated to empower women and advocate for gender equality across the globe.
We asked Rasha Kelej about the secret of her success, she answered:
“The greatest enemy of success is the fear of failure, so you do not try to do something new. I always explore my strengths within me and take risks and start new things. I never compare myself to others, I only compare what I done; not with what others done, but with what I should or could have done.
“I also believe in being there by myself, all my programs demand me to be there with them, with people, with communities, it is very important to talk to people who affected by the problems and who would benefit from solutions. I will do this all the time; I will never give up on them.” Dr. Rasha confirmed.
Merck has developed a lot of initiatives under the umbrella of Merck Capacity Advancement Program- CAP. In every initiative, Merck gives back to society and contribute to the African Development hence to Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs. One of them we heard about recently, the UNESCO-MERCK Africa Research Summit.
Merck, UNESCO and African Union marked another milestone to empower Women and Girls in the field of research and healthcare to improve women health, and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Merck announced five winners from Kenya, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Uganda and Ethiopia for ‘Best African Women Researchers Award’ and four winners from Botswana, Cameroon, Gambia and Zimbabwe for ‘Best Young African Researchers Award’ during the recently held 2nd UNESCO-Merck Africa Research Summit (MARS) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Merck continues to empower young researchers thus raising the level of scientific research in Africa and encourages in particular young women researchers to pursue their dreams, work for improving access to health solutions and make a difference in the continent. Moreover, Merck offers my support to motivate female researchers & healthcare providers and recognizes their excellent contribution to fields where they are underrepresented.”
“Merck will provide MARS award winners with training opportunities to advance their research to the international standard. They will also be appointed as ambassadors of” MERCK STEM Program for Girls” in their own countries through several future initiatives will be announced in 2017” explained Rasha Kelej Chief Social Officer, Merck.
Another talked about initiative is the Merck Cancer Access Program, where Merck commits to improve Access to Cancer Care through two initiatives: the Merck Africa Oncology Fellowship Program, and Merck more than a Patient initiative.
In 2016, Merck has announced the first “Africa Medical Oncology Fellowship Program” for Sub-Saharan African countries in partnership with University of Nairobi, Kenya and Tata Memorial Hospital, India. “We are committed to improve patient’s access to care all over the world. In Africa, where the number of oncologists is very limited, this starts by building additional medical capacity to increase the number of qualified oncologists across the continent.”
Candidates from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Botswana and South Africa were provided by one year or two-year medical oncology fellowship program,“We’d like to enroll more candidates and engage other countries such as Zambia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Liberia and Namibia. We firmly believe this is very important step to improve access to cancer care in Africa.” emphasized Dr. Rasha Kelej.
Merck more than a Patient Initiative.
This initiative aims to empower women cancer survivors in Africa through access to awareness, health and economic empowerment through helping them to establish their own small business so that they can lead independent and productive lives.
Merck will also help raising awareness about Cancer and tackling myths and stigma associated with the disease, “I believe we can together empower our communities to access accurate cancer information, which should result in behavior change coupled with adoption of health life style for cancer prevention, early detection and care. Merck is providing awareness videos about Cancer early detection and prevention in local languages on our social media” Kelej added.
The “http://www.merckmorethanamother.comMerck more than a Mother” initiative proves Merck’s commitment to empower infertile women across the continent through access to information, health and change of mindset.
“In some cultures, childless women still suffer discrimination, stigma and ostracism. An inability to have a child or to become pregnant can result in being greatly isolated, disinherited or assaulted. This always results in divorce or physical and psychological violence.” Dr.Rasha Kelej explained.
“Merck more than a Mother” will support governments to define policies to improve access to regulated, safe and effective fertility care and address the need for interventions to break the stigma around infertile women and the necessity for a team approach to family building among couples. It will also provide practical training for embryologists to build fertility care capacity in Africa.
Health Facts associated with Infertility in Africa and developing countries:
According to WHO data more than 180 million couples in developing countries (which means one in every four couples) suffer from primary or secondary infertility. In sub-Saharan Africa, untreated genital infections such as gonorrhoea and chlamydia may be the cause of up to 85% of infertility among women seeking infertility care, compared to 33% worldwide which emphasizing the importance of prevention programs in Africa. Hence prevention awareness is very important.
Merck supports Jackline Mwende, the recent victim of infertility stigma who got her both hands chopped by her own husband for failing to have children after 7 years of marriage. No woman should suffer the brutal violence Jackline did.
“Therefore in addition to raising awareness which will benefit future couples: Merck started “Empowering Berna “project with the aim to support infertile women who can’t bear children anymore to establish their small businesses so that they can re-build their own independent and happier lives. Woman is more than a Mother, Empowering Berna will prove this every day.” Rasha Kelej said.
“Being an oppressed, infertile Maasai woman is the worst thing that can happen to anyone,” Noonkipa Mpalush stated, “But now my life has changed with the help of Merck, I am happy and proud because I can support myself. Now I am more than a Mother.”
“Merck more than a Mother” championed by H.E. First Lady of Central African Republic( C.A.R.), Mrs. Brigitte Touadera and the First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Aisha Buhari in both C.A.R. and Nigeria respectively. The campaign was successfully launched in Kenya, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, C.A.R., and Liberia and will expand to other African and Asian Countries in 2017.
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