- Merck Foundation marked a milestone of providing 166 scholarships for Zimbabwean doctors in 44 critical specialties during their annual Alumni Summit – Celebrating 7 years of partnership between Merck Foundation and Zimbabwe First Lady and Government, and a remarkable legacy of transforming the country’s patient care landscape.
- Merck Foundation Zimbabwe Alumni Summit and Awards Ceremony 2025 was conducted in Harare, chaired by Zimbabwe First Lady and Merck Foundation CEO and Chairman.
- Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO recognized Zimbabwe First Lady for her great efforts as Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” Campaign.
Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com), the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany conducted the Merck Foundation Zimbabwe Annual Summit and Awards Ceremony 2025 in Harere, Zimbabwe, chaired by The First Lady of Zimbabwe, H.E. Amai Dr. AUXILLIA MNANGAGWA, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, and CEO of Merck Foundation, Dr. Rasha Kelej.
Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.), CEO of Merck Foundation and President of “More Than a Mother” Campaign emphasized, “It is a great honor to meet my dear sister, H.E. Amai Dr. AUXILLIA MNANGAGWA, First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe and to recognize her for her tremendous efforts as the Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother”. We celebrated our seven-year partnership journey and discussed our joint programs to build healthcare and media capacity, empower infertile women, and support girl education. Together, we reflected on our remarkable achievements and marked an important milestone of success and impact since 2018.
I am very proud to share that that we have transformed the patientcare landscape of Zimbabwe by providing 166 scholarships for the local doctors in 44 critical and underserved specialties such as Fertility, Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Respiratory, Acute Medicine, Sexual and Reproductive care, Embryology, Critical care, Psychiatry, and many more. This is a huge milestone and revolution in patient care across Zimbabwe.
Moreover, it was a pleasure to honor the Zimbabwean winners of Merck Foundation Media Awards 2022 – 2024 and discuss with them the critical role they can play to create a culture shift, be the voice of the voiceless and be the Merck Foundation health and social champions.”
Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg Haverkamp, Merck Foundation Board of Trustees emphasized, “Our aim is to improve the overall health and wellbeing of people by building healthcare capacity across Africa, Asia and other developing countries. We are strongly committed to transforming patientcare landscape through our scholarships program.”
H.E. Amai Dr. AUXILLIA MNANGAGWA, First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” expressed, “It is a great pleasure to welcome and meet the Chairman and CEO of Merck Foundation in our country. Together we celebrated an important milestone of the great success of our joined programs and also shared the impact of our 7-year partnership journey that we have with Merck Foundation to build healthcare capacity, transform patientcare, break infertility stigma and support girl education in our country since 2018.
In a very short time, Merck Foundation has provided 166 scholarships for our young doctors in many specialties which are very critical for us. Moreover, together we are providing annual scholarships to support the education of 40 high-performing yet underprivileged schoolgirls, till they graduate, as a part of the Educating Linda Program. This is for the first time that we work on such an impactful program, it is history in the making.”
Merck Foundation has provided more than 2400 scholarships for healthcare providers from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties.
Out of the total 166 scholarships provided in Zimbabwe, Merck Foundation has provided:
- 60 scholarships for doctors in Diabetes, Endocrinology, Cardiology, Cardiovascular Preventive, and Obesity&Weight Management. This represents a significant number of experts in the public healthcare system addressing the lifestyle-related health issues that are on the rise in our country and the rest of Africa.
- 48 scholarships have been provided for Fertility, Embryology, and the one-year diploma and two-year master’s degree programs in Sexual&Reproductive Care, Women’s Health, Family Medicine and Psychiatry.
- 58 scholarships have been provided for critical yet underserved specialties, including Oncology and Cancer care, Respiratory Care, Acute Medicine, Pain Management, Infectious Diseases, Dermatology, Psychiatry, Neurosurgery, Neurology, Neuroimaging for Research, Pediatrics, Gastroenterology, Orthopedics, Critical Care, Care for Older Person and Rheumatology.
During the Summit, Merck Foundation Awards Ceremony was held, during which 13 Winners of the Merck Foundation Awards were acknowledged by Merck Foundation Chairman, Merck Foundation CEO together with Zimbabwe First Lady. Merck Foundation has so far celebrated more than 60 winners of the Media, Song, Film, and Fashion Awards, since 2017.
The beneficiaries of the Educating Linda program were also present at the Summit, where a few of them shared inspiring testimonies on how the scholarships have changed their lives.
“I really believe that when the girls are educated, their countries become more powerful, stronger&prosperous”, added Senator Kelej.
Merck Foundation in partnership with The First Lady of Zimbabwe has launched eight children’s storybooks, “More Than a Mother”, ‘Educating Rujeko”, “Make the Right Choice”, “Jackline’s Rescue”, “Not Who You Are”, “Ride into the Future”, “Sugar free Jude” and “Mark’s Pressure”. These books address critical social and health issues to young children. Thousands of copies of these storybooks have been distributed to schoolchildren, several more are going to be distributed soon.
Moreover, Merck Foundation has conducted six editions of their Health Media Training for the Zimbabwean journalists in order to empower them to raise awareness about sensitive issues like breaking infertility stigma, supporting girl education, stopping GBV, ending Child marriage and FGM and raise awareness about diabetes and hypertension prevention and early detection.
Merck Foundation in partnership with The First Lady of Zimbabwe has also announced the Call for Application for their 8 important Awards for Media, Musicians, Fashion Designers, Filmmakers, students, and new potential talents in these fields.
Details of the Awards:
1. Merck Foundation Africa Media Recognition Awards “More Than a Mother” 2026: Media representatives and media students are invited to showcase their work to raise awareness about one or more of the following social issues such as: Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Ending FGM, and/ or Stopping GBV at all levels.
Submission deadline: 30th September 2026.
2. Merck Foundation Film Awards “More Than a Mother” 2026: All African Filmmakers, Students of Film Making Training Institutions, or Young Talents of Africa are invited to create and share a long or short FILMS, either drama, documentary, or docudrama to deliver strong and influential messages to address one or more of the following social issues such as: Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Ending FGM, and/ or Stopping GBV at all levels.
Submission deadline: 30th September 2026.
3. Merck Foundation Fashion Awards “More Than a Mother” 2026: All African Fashion Students and Designers are invited to create and share designs to deliver strong and influential messages to raise awareness about one or more of the following social issues such as: Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Ending FGM, and/ or Stopping GBV at all levels.
Submission deadline: 30th September 2026.
4. Merck Foundation Song Awards “More Than a Mother” 2026: All African Singers and Musical Artists are invited to create and share a SONG with the aim to address one or more of the following social issues such as: Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Ending FGM, and/ or Stopping GBV at all levels.
Submission deadline: 30th September 2026.
5. Merck Foundation Media Recognition Awards 2026 “Diabetes&Hypertension”: Media representatives are invited to showcase their work through strong and influential messages to promote a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness about the prevention and early detection of Diabetes and Hypertension.
Submission deadline: 30th October 2026.
6. Merck Foundation Film Awards 2026 “Diabetes&Hypertension”: All African Filmmakers, Students of Film Making Training Institutions, or Young Talents of Africa are invited to create and share a long or short FILMS, either drama, documentary, or docudrama to deliver strong and influential messages to promote a healthy lifestyle raise awareness about prevention and early detection of Diabetes and Hypertension.
Submission deadline: 30th October 2026.
7. Merck Foundation Fashion Awards 2026 “Diabetes&Hypertension”: All African Fashion Students and Designers are invited to create and share designs to deliver strong and influential messages to promote a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness about the prevention and early detection of Diabetes and Hypertension.
Submission deadline: 30th October 2026.
8. Merck Foundation Song Awards 2026 “Diabetes&Hypertension”: All African Singers and Musical Artists are invited to create and share a SONG with the aim to promote a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness about the prevention and early detection of Diabetes and Hypertension.
Submission deadline: 30th October 2026.
Entries for all the awards are to be submitted via email to: submit@merck-foundation.com
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Merck Foundation.Contact:
Mehak Handa
Community Awareness Program Manager
Phone: +91 9310087613/ +91 9319606669
Email: mehak.handa@external.merckgroup.com
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The 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 www.Merck-Foundation.com to read more. Follow the social media of Merck Foundation: Facebook (https://apo-opa.co/44WFYxD), Twitter (https://apo-opa.co/44nz4RZ), Instagram (https://apo-opa.co/4pz1tNp), YouTube (https://apo-opa.co/4pyDD4e) and Flickr (https://apo-opa.co/44oPF7W).
