Dr. Rasha Kelej discussed with Mozambique First Lady their joint programs to build healthcare and media capacity and Support Girl Education

Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com) CEO, Dr. Rasha Kelej met H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO, First Lady of Mozambique and Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother” during the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative - MFFLI Summit 2025. The Summit which was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, and Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.)  CEO of Merck Foundation & President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative and H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO, First Lady of Mozambique and Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother” along with First Ladies of Angola, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Nigeria, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, and Zimbabwe.

Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.) expressed, “It was a pleasure meeting my dear sister H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO, First Lady of Mozambique and officially appoint her to be the Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” at 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative - MFFLI Summit 2025. During our meeting, we underscored our commitment towards building healthcare capacity and transforming patient care landscape by providing 100 scholarships for local Mozambican doctors in 42 critical and underserved specialties, through our long-term partnership. We also discussed about addressing critical social and health issues in the country including breaking the infertility stigma and supporting girl education. We also signed an MoU to underscore our long-term partnership”.

H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO, First Lady of Mozambique & Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother stated, “It was indeed a great pleasure to be a part of the prestigious conference together with my dear sisters, First Ladies of Africa and Asia, and hearing from them about the impact of Merck Foundation programs in their respective countries. I am proud to share that 20 scholarships have been provided to our local doctors for Diabetes, Endocrinology, Acute Medicine, Infectious diseases, and Pain Management. We plan to provide a total of 100 scholarships through our partnership”.  

Watch the Speech of The First Lady of Mozambique & Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother during the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Summit 2025 here: https://apo-opa.co/49sipOM

Watch the video of Merck Foundation CEO, Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.) receiving H.E. Dr. GUETA SELEMANE CHAPO, First Lady of Mozambique & Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”: https://apo-opa.co/4buZTI7

On day 2 of the Summit, Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative- MFFLI committee meeting was conducted between The First Ladies of Africa and Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO, where the African and Asian First Ladies shared the impact report of Merck Foundation programs in their respective countries, and future strategy was discussed.

Watch the video of MFFLI committee meeting: https://apo-opa.co/4buZVQf

During the Summit, a strategy meeting between The First Lady of Mozambique and Merck Foundation CEO, Dr. Rasha Kelej was also held to sign the MoU to underscore their long-term partnership and continue their on-going programs and define strategies to further build healthcare and media capacity in Mozambique to address a wide range of social and health issues.

Watch video of the meeting here: https://apo-opa.co/4buZWnh

“Since 2012, Merck Foundation has been deeply committed to building healthcare capacity across Africa and beyond. To date, we have provided 2500 scholarships for young doctors from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved specialties. Very soon, we will be enrolling more doctors from Mozambique in various specialties, through our partnership with the First Lady and the Ministry of Health,” shared Dr. Rasha Kelej.

Merck Foundation has also announced the Call for applications for their 8 important awards in partnership with The First Lady of Mozambique for Media, Musicians, Fashion Designers, Filmmakers, students, and new potential talents in these fields.