LUANDA, Angola, Sept 8 (The African Portal) – Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, conducted the 7th Edition of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative – MFFLI Summit 2025 recently.
It was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, and Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation & President of Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative and Dr. Ana Dias Lourenco, the First Lady of the Republic of Angola & Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”, along with First Ladies of Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Maldives, Mozambique, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, and Zimbabwe.
Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation in welcoming the First Ladies to the summit expressed happiness about the successes chalked by the initiative so far.
“I am very happy to have welcomed my dear sister, Dr. Ana Dias Lourenco, First Lady of the Republic of Angola & Ambassador of Merck Foundation ‘More Than a Mother’ for the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Summit 2025. We had a very meaningful discussion and will soon be initiating our joint programmes in the country to transform the public healthcare landscape and raise awareness about a wide range of social health issues,” she said.
Dr. Ana Dias Lourenco welcomed the Merck Foundation’s Educating Linda initiative, saying “I am looking forward to start the implementation of the Educating Linda Programme which aims to empower girls through education and end child marriage.”
She said the initiative was dear to her heart “I strongly believe that girl Education is one of the most critical areas of women empowerment. Moreover, I am also looking forward to providing scholarships for our local doctors to build and strengthen healthcare capacity in our country.”
What this means: Merck Foundation is transforming the Patient care landscape and making history together with their partners in Africa, Asia, and beyond. The Foundation’s partnership with the First Ladies of these parts of the world has yielded some positive results, leading to increase in trained healthcare workers for these countries.
I am not sure where this is coming from. I can assure you no contract whatsoever has been awarded to the best of my knowledge. I entreat @mensaduncan or his organization to provide any contrary claims. This is unacceptable!! https://t.co/NdrezioLxO
— Pablo ✌️ (@georgeoaddo) September 8, 2025
