Merck Foundation Brings First Ladies, Health Experts Together for Africa and Asia Health Drive
Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, held the 13th Edition of its Africa Asia Luminary on June 18 and 19, 2026, through an online videoconference that connected thousands of people across continents.
The annual conference was opened by Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of the Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, and Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and Chairperson of the Luminary.
They were joined by the First Ladies of 12 African and Asian countries who came in as Guests of Honor and Keynote Speakers. The event felt less like a formal meeting and more like a conversation among leaders who have seen the pain of poor healthcare up close and are determined to fix it.
Dr. Rasha Kelej, who also leads the “More Than a Mother” campaign, spoke with warmth about the privilege of welcoming the First Ladies, calling them ambassadors of the campaign.
She said the two days were spent sharing real experiences and talking honestly about how Merck Foundation’s programs are changing patient care and drawing attention to health and social issues that too often get ignored. The discussions were not about big words.
They were about clinics that now have trained doctors, women who no longer suffer in silence over infertility, and communities learning that health is a right, not a privilege.
Stangenberg-Haverkamp thanked the First Ladies and all the partners who have stood with Merck Foundation over the years. He reminded everyone that Africa carries 24 percent of the world’s disease burden but has only 2.9 healthcare workers for every 1,000 people.
That gap is what Merck Foundation is trying to close. He said the goal is not just to train individuals, but to transform whole health systems so fewer families have to travel abroad for treatment.
His words were simple but heavy: everyone deserves to live a healthy and happy life, and that work continues across Africa, Asia, and beyond.
The First Ladies who joined the conference were H.E. Dr. Ana Dias Lourenço of Angola, H.E. Dr. Débora Katisa Carvalho of Cabo Verde, H.E. Madam Brigitte Touadera of the Central African Republic, H.E. Madam Zita Oligui Nguema of Gabon, H.E. Mrs. Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow of The Gambia, H.E. Mrs. Rachel Ruto of Kenya.
Others were H.E. Mrs. Kartumu Yarta Boakai of Liberia, H.E. Madam Sajidha Mohamed of Maldives, H.E. Dr. Gueta Selemane Chapo of Mozambique, H.E. Senator Oluremi Tinubu of Nigeria, H.E. Mrs. Maria de Fatima Vila Nova of São Tomé and Príncipe, and H.E. Mrs. Kaone Boko of Botswana. Each of them has been working with Merck Foundation to push programs that touch real lives.
The Tata memorial group was represented and Dr. Rasha Kelej shared that Merck Foundation has now given more than 2,600 scholarships to healthcare providers from 52 countries, covering 44 critical and underserved specialties. Many of those doctors and nurses have returned home as the first specialists in their countries.
She said over 800 of those scholarships went to fields like fertility, embryology, sexual and reproductive medicine, psychiatry, women’s health, and family medicine. That is helping strengthen fertility care and women’s health in 42 countries.
The timing was important too, because June is World Infertility Awareness Month, and the “More Than a Mother” campaign was at the heart of the talks. The campaign is about giving infertile and childless women information, health support, education, and a change of mindset so they are not blamed or shamed.
The 2026 Luminary also marked two milestones: the 9th anniversary of Merck Foundation and 14 years of its development programs that began in 2012. On day one, more than 800 healthcare providers, policymakers, and media from 57 English, French, and Portuguese-speaking countries joined in, with over 220,000 people watching online. Day two focused on science, with sessions oncology and fertility.
For 14 years Merck Foundation has been quietly building clinics, training doctors, and changing stories. This year’s Luminary showed that when leaders, doctors, and communities work together, health stops being a dream and starts becoming a reality for families who need it most.