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Tendai Rupapa in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
FIRST LADY Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa was among 15 African and Asian First Ladies who attended the 11th edition of Merck Foundation Africa-Asia Luminary 2024, which also brought together ministers of health, healthcare experts, academia, diplomats and researchers.
Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary is a yearly educational conference which provides first ladies a platform to interact, share experiences and discuss topics such as women’s empowerment, disease management through advocacy, and expanding access to quality healthcare.
The First Ladies are also Merck More than a Mother Ambassadors in their respective countries.
During the high-level event, Merck Foundation was also celebrating two significant milestones- the 7th Anniversary of Merck Foundation and 12 years of the organisation’s development programmes in Africa, Asia and underserved communities.
The event which was officially opened by Tanzanian President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, was attended by First Ladies from Zimbabwe, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central Africa Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Zanzibar, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Maldives, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe.
The First Ladies were welcomed by President Hassan, the only female President in Africa, who said she was overjoyed to share ideas on various issues with fellow women as she was used to interacting mostly with her male counterparts.
President Hassan said she was delighted to see First Ladies converging for a good cause and applauded them for the initiatives they are implementing, in partnership with Merck Foundation, which are transforming the lives of people in their respective countries.
She further implored the First Ladies to share with their husbands the various issues they discuss at their forums so that they are adopted for the benefit of nations and advance the concerns of women.
“I have a message that I wish to share with you that you may also wish to go with. Excellencies, as a head of state I often find myself isolated at international fora where I am the only woman Head of State and there is only a handful of women Presidents globally. In addition to my responsibilities, I learnt to use my voice and add key perspectives which may be missing and to put in place proposals that will advance the concerns of women,” she said.
The Tanzanian leader reminded First Ladies that they occupied an important place which could be exploited to empower women and improve their welfare across the continent.
She drew laughter from the audience when she shared a parable of the wind and the sun.
“I wish to remind you my sisters First Ladies, that as First Ladies you also occupy important positions in your respective societies. In saying so, I am reminded of the old parable about the wind and the sun. One day the wind and the sun decided to engage in a friendly debate. To test their persuasive strengths on a traveller, they both tried to get the traveller to remove his clothes. The wind went fast and was fiercely attempting to force the traveller to remove his clothes but the force of the wind only succeeded in making him hold the clothes even tighter. Then the sun gave it a try. It simply shined virtually warming the traveller until willingly, the traveller removed his coat. So I find this parable to be patent as it speaks to what can be achieved persuasively, brilliantly and with warmth. As women, we traditionally treat issues with warmth so kindly share your discussions with my fellow Presidents so that they can take them on the agenda. I would like to congratulate you Your Excellencies for the wide-ranging impactful initiatives and programmes that you are undertaking in your respective countries. This suggests to me that you recognise that you have an important role in realising the important aspirations of a brighter, healthier future for all our people, particularly for the young girls and women in Africa. In addition to the great work that you have been doing, today I am urging you to give brilliant and warm counsel in support of prioritising interventions that will support and empower women and improve their welfare in your respective countries and I wish you the best in your endeavours,” she said.
She commended the Merck Foundation for organising the meeting in Tanzania and said she looked forward to invaluable insights from the conference.
Amai Mnangagwa who has embarked on various life-changing programmes in health, education and media in partnership with Merck Foundation, highlighted significant milestones achieved through collaborative efforts between Angel of Hope Foundation and Merck Foundation.
She said she was delighted to be among other First Ladies at the well-subscribed conference which underscored the importance of the platform.
“I want to commend Prof. Haverkamp and my dear sister Senator Rasha Kelej, along with their entire team, for bringing us together and organising this impressive conference on such a grand scale. Congratulations on the 7th Anniversary of the Merck Foundation and for completing 12 successful years of capacity-building programmes. Hearing the inspiring success stories about the significant impact of their partnership with the Merck Foundation in their respective countries has been truly uplifting,” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa said her partnership journey with the foundation commenced in 2019, and they have accomplished significant milestones ever since.
“Our joint programmes have been beneficial in advancing the healthcare capacity in my country by providing speciality training for doctors and building the media capacity by providing mentorship for media partners to improve their critical role in effective community awareness.
“Through our long-term partnership, and as the Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother”, we have provided more than 122 scholarships of one-year diploma and two-year masterdegrees to young Zimbabwean doctors in 44 critical and underserved specialities including Fertility & Embryology, Oncology, Diabetes, Preventive Cardiovascular, Endocrinology, Sexual & Reproductive Care, Respiratory Medicine, Acute Medicine, Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, Neonatal Care, Psychiatry, Internal Medicine, Emergency Paediatric, Orthopaedic Trauma and more,” she said.
Out of a total of 122 scholarships, the First Lady said 51 scholarships had been extended to doctors specializing in Diabetes, Endocrinology, Preventive Cardiovascular and Obesity and Weight Management.
“We are transforming the Diabetes care within our nation. 56 more scholarships have been provided for Fertility, Embryology and a year diploma and two-year master’s degree in Sexual and Reproductive Care. These scholarships add a substantial value to women’s health and transform the landscape of fertility and sexual and reproductive healthcare nationwide. It is very important to me in my capacity as a fellow woman and First Lady and in my role as Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More than a Mother” to break the stigma around infertile women.
“34 scholarships have been provided for Respiratory Care, Acute Medicine, Pain Management, Infectious diseases, Dermatology, Neuroimaging for Research, Neurosurgery, Paediatrics and Rheumatology,” she said.
Advancing the healthcare capacity of a country, Dr Mnangagwa added, was critical to the development of nations.
“Hence, I recognise the magnitude of this accomplishment and hold it in high regard. Moreover, I take my role of Ambassador of Merck Foundation More than a Mother very seriously and work in collaboration with our ministries to actively monitor the programme outcomes and engage with beneficiaries to ensure optimal utilisation of this valuable opportunity to improve access to quality and equitable fertility care in our public sector, to sensitize our communities and rural areas to break the stigma around infertile women and to empower them through access to information, education, health and change of mindset,” she said.
Speaking on empowerment, Dr Mnangawa said she believed that education was key to empowering women, changing mindsets and bringing a lasting change in any society.
“I would like to highlight Merck Foundation’s Educating Linda programme, a programme that I am personally passionate about. Through this initiative, we will be providing scholarships to schoolgirls to continue their education.
“Together, we have also distributed thousands of copies of the seven storybooks to our young readers, school students of Zimbabwe. The adaptation of these storybooks to animation films is also a novel idea. It will certainly help sensitize our children and youth and educate our communities about important health issues such as diabetes hypertension and other social issues in an entertaining and engaging way.
“In order to advance media capacity, we have organised five editions of Merck Foundation Health Media Training for journalists to educate them on how to be the voice of the voiceless and raise awareness on sensitive issues like breaking infertility stigma. I appreciate this initiative, as educated and informed journalists can widely support the country in raising community awareness about critical social and health issues,” she said.
To date, Zimbabwe has celebrated many winners of Merck Foundation Awards, and the First Lady said she was sure that there will be many more winners this year too.
“On behalf of the people of Zimbabwe, we welcome our long-term partnership with Merck Foundation to build healthcare capacity, media capacity and address the health and social challenges in our beautiful country,” she said.
Sao Tome and Principe First Lady Ms Maria De Fatima Vila Nova said her country had achieved a lot through her work with the Merck Foundation.
“My dear sisters the number of specialists trained in our country gives me joy and I am excited to share that we have this programme in my country Sao Tome and Principe where there has been successful delivery of scholarships among local specialists on oncology and gender issues. This is a very important contribution to our public sector. The initiatives that are part of the community awareness programmes implemented by Merck Foundation are crucial for breaking the stigma around infertility and tackling other critical social and health issues such as supporting girls’ education, ending child marriages and having an increasing awareness on many diseases,” she said.
Malawi First Lady, Mrs Monica Chakwera said her country had implemented several initiatives that had transformed lives in her country.
“I always believe in girl child empowerment. Through a partnership with Merck Foundation, we have awarded more than 48 scholarships to young Malawian doctors in crucial medical specialities. We are committed to continuing to partner with Merck Foundation to impact more lives. I remain committed to assisting women with infertility by giving them life-changing opportunities,” she said.
Maldives First Lady Mrs Sajidha Mohamed hailed the Merck Foundation for its transformative programmes which were improving the lives of the people.
“I would like to thank the CEO of Merck Foundation and chair of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary Rasha Kelej and her team for organising this impactful event by bringing together not only First Ladies from many countries who are already at the epicentre of women’s issues but the practitioners and academics who are here. This platform represents our collective commitment to tackle some of the most pressing challenges faced by our nations, issues that are deeply rooted in health, education and socio-economic equity. The Merck Foundation has been a driving force in addressing these challenges and I thank the foundation for the invitation extended to me,” she said.
Merck Foundation chief executive officer Rasha Kelej praised the First Ladies for gracing the high-level event.
“The First Ladies travelled long distances to come to be with us and to support and make all our impactful programmes successful in their countries. I really appreciate the cooperation, the day-to-day follow-up, and your presence, not only today but every day of the year. We are here to share experiences, knowledge and information discussing strategies, challenges and solutions. Your presence each year to meet face to face is very important. We are very grateful to have all this success.
“In Africa and Asia, we provide support in critical and underserved medical specialities, diabetes, cardiovascular, cancer, fertility, sexual reproductive, respiratory care, and acute care.
“It is really a great honour to be the first to train many specialists in many countries. There are also many scholarships which went to many other countries. We have our community awareness which is very active and very important to raise awareness on many issues like girls education and ending child marriages and ending gender-based violence,” she said.
Merck Foundation chairman Dr Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp highlighted the success of the foundation.
“Our goal is to foster the exchange of your experiences and success stories in addressing healthcare challenges, breaking infertility stigma and supporting growth and education in your respective countries through our foundation’s programmes in partnership with your offices and foundations. Together we have grown from strength to strength,” he said.
Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care Sleiman Timios Kwidini said he was glad to have accompanied Dr Mnangagwa to the vital meeting.
“Through her Angel of Hope Foundation (AOHf), the First Lady has a partnership with Merck Foundation which is helping on issues to do with health expertise and we have seen that in Zimbabwe AOHf through Merck Foundation has trained 103 medical practitioners, especially doctors who have come in to give expertise in different diseases especially oncology, diabetes, hypertension, respiratory diseases and so forth. We have seen our First Lady in Zimbabwe at the forefront, especially in cancer awareness campaigns. She has visited many areas like in rural areas who mistook cancer for witchcraft due to lack of knowledge. As the Ministry of Health and Child Care, we are grateful to our First Lady. These forums where mothers of nations meet are very vital. Amai goes to the grassroots with her awareness campaigns on various diseases especially NCDs (non-commutable diseases) such that by the time people visit health centres, they will be equipped with knowledge and as a Ministry, it makes our work easier. Also when she attends such forums, she comes armed with knowledge on what will be happening in communities and what will be affecting women and the girl child. So we want to thank the First Lady for attending this high-level meeting where she shared notes with her counterparts. As a Ministry we also learnt a lot because without coming or attending such forums, one would not be well-versed with certain issues,” he said.
Technical advisor to Dr Mnangagwa, Dr Bernard Madzima commended the First Lady for attending the meeting alongside her 14 counterparts.
“This is important in that she has taken the opportunity to interact with other First Ladies from other African countries. It really puts Zimbabwe on the map in terms of collaborations with other countries from across Africa. Not only that but also with Merck Foundation, which is running several programmes in health and education across Africa. We want to commend Her Excellency for taking the opportunity to come to Dar es Salaam and share her experiences as far as the social programmes and health programmes which she is running in the country. It puts Zimbabwe on the map as far as health programmes which affect the continent and as the discussions go on, it becomes important because the interventions which are talked of at this level are the ones which Her Excellency has now taken back home to Zimbabwe and she implements them as she goes into the communities doing her programmes. Her implementation is on awareness campaigns and advocacy,” he said.
leeroy
Online Reporter