Merck Foundation Celebrates International Women’s Day with Expanded Education and Health Opportunities for Women
The Merck Foundation has marked International Women’s Day 2026 by reaffirming its long-standing commitment to empowering women and girls through education, healthcare capacity building and social awareness initiatives across Africa and Asia.
The foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA of Germany, commemorated the day alongside First Ladies from African and Asian countries who serve as ambassadors for its programmes, as well as partner ministries responsible for health, education, communication and gender.
According to the organisation, the celebration highlights more than 14 years of sustained development initiatives designed to promote women’s empowerment and address social challenges such as infertility stigma, limited access to education and gender-based discrimination.
Chief Executive Officer Rasha Kelej said empowering women and girls remains central to the foundation’s mission.
“At Merck Foundation, empowering women and girls is not confined to a single day. It is embedded in everything we do and shapes our vision and programmes,” she said.
Dr Kelej added that the foundation has worked closely with First Ladies across Africa and Asia to deliver long-term initiatives such as More Than a Mother, the Merck Foundation Scholarships Programme, the Educating Linda Programme and the STEM Programme.
The More Than a Mother initiative focuses on empowering infertile and childless women by improving access to health information, education and changing social perceptions surrounding infertility.
Through its scholarships programme, the foundation has provided more than 2,500 scholarships to healthcare professionals from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties. Nearly half of these scholarships have been awarded to women medical graduates, helping to strengthen the number of female specialists across the health sector.
Dr Kelej noted that more than 770 scholarships have also been dedicated to young healthcare providers working to advance women’s reproductive and sexual health as well as fertility care.
She emphasised that education remains one of the most powerful tools for empowering women.
“As part of our Educating Linda programme, together with the First Ladies of Africa, we have provided more than 1,200 annual scholarships to underprivileged African schoolgirls from 19 countries, enabling them to complete their education and reach their full potential,” she said.
The foundation is also supporting women in science through its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics initiatives and the annual Merck Foundation Africa Research Summit Awards, which recognise outstanding African women and young researchers.
“Our goal is to empower women and young African researchers, enhance their research capacity and promote their contributions to STEM,” Dr Kelej said.
In addition, the foundation runs annual awards for media, film, music and fashion to encourage creative advocacy on issues such as girls’ education, ending child marriage and female genital mutilation, combating gender-based violence and addressing infertility stigma.
The organisation further promotes these themes through children’s storybooks, animation films, awareness songs and its television programme Our Africa by Merck Foundation, which highlights development issues affecting communities across the continent.
Through these initiatives, the foundation says it aims to sustain momentum towards gender equality while expanding access to education and healthcare opportunities for women and girls worldwide.
