Kenya’s First Lady Her Excellency Mrs. Rachel Ruto on Tuesday urged the Merck Foundation to extend the More Than a Mother Campaign to include the school feeding program.
The “More Than a Mother” campaign by Merck Foundation is a strong movement that aims to empower infertile and childless women through access to information, education and change of mindset.
Speaking during the inauguration of the First Ladies’ 11th Edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, officially inaugurated by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E. Dr. Samia Suluhu, the First Lady emphasized the critical role of nutrition in unlocking children’s potential.
“A plate of food is indeed power in a child’s hand for a healthy child is better placed to learn and succeed in life,” she said emphasizing that a healthy meal can be the bridge that enables a child to attend school and concentrate on their education.
Quoting the words of Nelson Mandela, “education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world,” the first lady lamented that, despite education being a fundamental human right, countless children remain locked out of learning opportunities due to poverty, conflict and other barriers.
According to her, 46 million children remain out of school across Eastern and Southern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa faces the highest rates of learning poverty with nine out of ten children unable to read and comprehend a simple story by age ten.
“These high rates of learning poverty have far-reaching impacts on our children’s lives and the future prosperity of our continent,” she noted emphasizing on the need to invest in foundational education, hence, equipping children with the much-needed skills.
The event which also marked the celebration of Merck Foundation’s 7th Anniversary and their 12-year journey of their development programs was graced by fifteen First Ladies from Africa and Asia and more than 6000 healthcare providers, policymakers and media from over 70 English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese speaking countries through hybrid models.
In her speech, H.E. Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, expressed confidence that the conference will help them achieve their shared mission to make a transformation in the health and wellbeing of their people.
“I deeply appreciate the Programs of Merck Foundation that are building healthcare capacity, breaking infertility stigma and supporting girl education,” she said
Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and Chairperson of the Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary, stated that alongside the First Ladies, they will share experiences and engage in impactful discussions on the progress of various initiatives aimed at transforming patient care. These discussions will also address critical social and health issues, including supporting girls’ education, ending child marriages, and stopping gender-based violence.
Dr. Kelej further emphasized the Foundation’s commitment to breaking the stigma around infertility, ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), empowering women, and raising awareness about Diabetes and Hypertension.
Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merk Foundation Board of Trustees added that at Merck Foundation their aim is to improve health and wellbeing of people by building healthcare capacity across Africa, Asia and other developing countries.
The foundation has provided more than 2080 scholarships to young doctors from 50 countries in 42 critical and undeserved specialties such as Oncology and Cancer care, Diabetes, Endocrinology, Cardiovascular, Fertility Care, Embryology, Sexual and Reproductive Medicine, Internal Medicine, Respiratory Medicine among others.
