Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com) declared Botswana First Lady as Ambassador of “More than a Mother” to build healthcare capacity, break infertility stigma, stop GBV and support girl education; Merck Foundation Chairperson&CEO meet Botswana President and First Lady to acknowledge their Alumni and Award winners; Merck Foundation marking strong milestone of Transforming Patient Care Landscape and Supporting Girl Education in partnership with Botswana First Lady.

Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany officially launched their programs in partnership with H.E. Mrs. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Botswana, also the Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother”, the programs which started in 2018 with the aim to transform patient care, build healthcare capacity, break the stigma of infertility, empower women, support girl education, stop GBV in Botswana and the rest of Africa.

The program took place in esteemed presence of The President of the Republic of Botswana, H.E. Dr. MOKGWEETSI ERIC KEABETSWE MASISI and Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp.

The Summit was chaired by The First Lady of Botswana, H.E. Mrs. NEO JANE MASISI, and CEO of Merck Foundation, Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej.

H.E. Dr. MOKGWEETSI ERIC MASISI, the President of Botswana emphasized during the launch “I deeply appreciate the joint programs of The First Lady of Botswana and the Merck Foundation. I am thrilled to see the tangible, measurable impact of these programs  and their long-term commitment to the health and social development of our beautiful country, in such a short time. Botswana needs these valuable programs; I wholeheartedly wish for their success.”

Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of “More Than a Mother” Campaign emphasized, “It is a great honor to meet H.E. The President of Republic of Botswana, and our long-term partner and my dear sister, H.E. Mrs. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Republic of Botswana and Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” to officially launch the Merck Foundation Programs in the country, and to underscore our commitment towards building healthcare and media capacity, patient care landscape transformation, ending GBV, breaking infertility stigma and supporting girl education, together in the country.”

H.E. Mrs. NEO JANE MASISI, The First Lady of Republic of Botswana, Ambassador of “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” expressed, “It is a pleasure to welcome and meet Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO to our country. Together we officially launched and also celebrated important milestones of the great success of our joint programs to build healthcare capacity, transform patientcare, break infertility stigma, support girl education and stop GBV, in our country since 2018.

In a very short time, we have been able to provide 46 scholarships to our young doctors in many specialties which are very critical for us. We are proud of our achievements together.”

“I am very happy to share that we have together transformed the patientcare landscape of Botswana by providing 46 scholarships of One-Year Online PG Diploma and Two-Year Master Degree for local doctors from Botswana nationwide in many underserved and critical medical specialties such as Oncology, Diabetes, Endocrinology, Embryology, Fertility, Sexual and Reproductive care, Acute Medicine, Dermatology, Obesity and Weight Management, Respiratory Care and Internal Medicine and more, it is considered as an excellent number for 2.7 M population. And we are still going to provide more scholarships to local  healthcare providers nationwide”, emphasized Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg Haverkamp, Merck Foundation Board of Trustees.

“I am also very happy to share that together with Her Excellency The First Lady of Botswana, we are also supporting girl education by providing scholarships and bicycles for 40 schoolgirls to cover their transportation and other education expenses so that they can reach their potentials and achieve their dreams”, Dr. Rasha Kelej added.

Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg Haverkamp added, “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.”

“Merck Foundation has provided 1810 scholarships to doctors from 52 countries in 42 critical and underserved medical specialties. Out of the total 46 scholarships provided in Botswana, 19 scholarships have been provided for Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity&Weight Management, for Botswanan doctors from different provinces across the country, which is very important to improve access to quality and equitable diabetes and hypertension patient care not only in Gaborone but nationwide. After completion of the course, these doctors will be able to establish diabetes or hypertension clinics in their Health Centre or Hospital with the aim to help prevent and manage the disease in their own communities”,  Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej added.

Out of the 46 scholarships, 10 scholarships have been provided to doctors in Fertility and one-year PG Diploma and two-year Master degree in Sexual and Reproductive Medicine. This is a huge number that will advance women’s health in the country.

5 Scholarships have been provided for Oncology to develop and support the cancer care capacity in the country.

Moreover, 12 scholarships have been provided for Acute Medicine, Respiratory Care, Dermatology, Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine and more as part of Merck Foundation Capacity Advancement Program.

Merck Foundation is also working closely with Botswana First Lady to inspire girls and sensitize communities about the importance of girl education. As a part of their ‘Educating Linda’ program, Merck Foundation will sponsor the education of 20 deserving schoolgirls, till they graduate. Moreover, Merck Foundation also provided 20 bicycles to encourage girls to continue going to the school, as they sometimes dropout due to long distances.          

“I really believe that when the girls are educated, their countries become more powerful, stronger&prosperous”, added Senator Kelej.

Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO together with The First Lady of Botswana also visited schools in the country to meet the beneficiaries of Sewing machines donation and witness their success.

During the Summit, Merck Foundation Awards Ceremony was held, during which 7 Winners of the Merck Foundation Awards were acknowledged by Merck Foundation Chairman, Merck Foundation CEO together with Botswana First Lady.

Additionally, they also addressed the journalists during the Merck Foundation Health Media Training conducted in partnership with The First Lady of Botswana for the Botswanan journalists, to emphasize on the important role that media plays to influence society to create a cultural shift with the aim to address wide range of social and health issues such as: Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Ending FGM, Stopping GBV, Diabetes and Hypertension awareness. Apart from this, the Call for Application for 8 important Merck Foundation Awards in partnership with The First Lady of Botswana were announced for Media, Musicians, Fashion Designers, Filmmakers, students, and new potential talents in these fields Merck Foundation. The training program was also addressed by prominent Medical&Media Experts and Government Officials.

Moreover, Merck Foundation Chairman, and Merck Foundation CEO together with The First Lady of Botswana signed a few copies of their different children’s storybooks titled: “More Than a Mother” created for children and youth to emphasize and strengthen family values of love and respect from an early age; “Not Who You Are” to teach boys to love and respect their future wives and eliminate domestic violence, to emphasize on the importance of empowering girls through education and “Sugar Free Jude” and “Mark’s Pressure” to promote a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness on the early detection and prevention of Diabetes&Hypertension. Thousands of copies of these storybooks are going to be distributed to school students of Botswana.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Merck Foundation.

More Images: https://apo-opa.co/3WMWexq

Contact details:
Mehak Handa
Community Awareness Program Manager
+91 9310087613/ +91 9319606669
mehak.handa@external.merckgroup.com

Join the conversation on our social media platforms below and let your voice be heard!
Facebook: https://apo-opa.co/3A5dfu5
Twitter: https://apo-opa.co/3WpeGLn
YouTube: https://apo-opa.co/3WKmA3g
Instagram: https://apo-opa.co/3WuzJvW
Flickr: https://apo-opa.co/3WKmAjM
Website: www.Merck-Foundation.com
Download the Merck Foundation App: https://apo-opa.co/4dgbyII

About Merck Foundation:
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/3A5dfu5), Twitter (https://apo-opa.co/3WpeGLn), Instagram (https://apo-opa.co/3WuzJvW), YouTube (https://apo-opa.co/3WKmA3g) and Flickr (https://apo-opa.co/3WKmAjM).

Developing Markets technology systems integrator Cassava Technologies (Cassava) (www.CassavaTechnologies.com) has announced that its AI activities will now operate as a separate business unit, Cassava AI.

Since the advent of Generative AI, Cassava has forged strategic partnerships with industry giants such as Microsoft, Google, AWS, Anthropic, Oracle, Atlas AI, Cerebras and Palo Alto Networks. These partnerships enable it to offer superior systems integration and support to enterprise customers across strategic international markets.

Cassava already provides services such as Data Centres, Cloud, Cyber Security, Fibre Connectivity, and Renewable Energy to large multinational and local companies. The organisation has already trained and deployed more than 200 people of its 5000-strong staff to empower customers to adopt and use Generative AI services from the world’s leading vendors.

Cassava, headquartered in the UK, was founded by African Entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa and includes many leading global institutional investors. Hardy Pemhiwa, President and Group CEO, said, “Cassava AI is headquartered in London and can already provide services in any of the 40-plus markets in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, where the Cassava Technologies group companies operate. Ahmed El Beheiry, a veteran technology and telecoms executive, will lead this business unit.”

For More Information visit: www.Cassava.AI

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Cassava Technologies.

For further information contact:
Angela Chandy 
angela.chandy@liquid.tech 

About Cassava Technologies:
Cassava Technologies is a technology leader providing a vertically integrated ecosystem of digital services and infrastructure enabling digital transformation. Through its business units, namely, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Liquid C2, Africa Data Centres, Distributed Power Africa, Sasai Fintech, Cassava has operations across key growth markets like Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the United States of America. Cassava provides its customers in 94 countries with offerings that will help them grow, transform, and expand their operations. https://www.CassavaTechnologies.com/   

President Yoweri Museveni has tasked accounting officers to be strict with matters of accountability in wealth creation programmes for rural poverty eradication.

Museveni said programmes like the Parish Development Model (PDM) require transparency to advantage its beneficiaries.  

“The ideology and politics of the NRM is intended to solve people’s problems with avenues like wealth creation through agriculture. I urge the people of Mitooma to take advantage of coffee farming,” he said.

The President was hosted by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, and the duo addressed a rally at Rwakitandara Playground in Ruhinda North County, Mitooma District on Sunday, 28 July 2024.

The rally was preceded by a thanksgiving Mass for Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa and his father, Daudi Bangirana, held during the consecration of St. Karoli Lwanga Kigarama Catholic Parish by the Archbishop of Mbarara Archdiocese, His Grace Lambert Bainomugisha.

The President commended the wealth generation projects in the area and donated Shs50 million to Ruhinda North Women’s Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation.

The Speaker, Anita Among, hailed the Deputy Speaker for a seamless working relationship in Parliament.

She also thanked President Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni for supporting family values, which she said has supported the smooth running of Parliament.

“Mr President, I request you protect the Legislature. We are ready to work with you to achieve what we have promised to Ugandans,” said Among.

The Deputy Speaker urged locals in the district to take advantage of coffee farming so as to promote the development of household incomes through agriculture.

“We have model coffee farmers who have set a good example for others, but we need subsidies on fertilisers. I have established nursery beds for our people and there are 35,000 coffee seedlings to distribute. But, we have to first see the arable land that locals will use to plant the coffee,” he said.

He said the PDM programme in his constituency is progressing well albeit instances of corruption, adding that persons who misused the funds have been arrested, and others will be apprehended too.

Mitooma District Chairperson, Benon Karyeija, asked the President to support the tea sector through support to farmers across the country, sounding alarm over the dwindling tea plantations in the district.

The consecration Mass of St. Karoli Lwanga Kigarama Catholic Parish that preceded the rally, attracted a host of dignitaries including Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, a host of ministers and Members of Parliament.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

The government of the Republic of Korea has decided to provide US $1 million in humanitarian aid to Ethiopia to support the latter’s ongoing relief efforts in response to landslides.

The landslides reportedly left 257 people dead as of July 26.

The ROK government hopes that its humanitarian aid to Ethiopia would support the recovery of the affected areas and help residents in those areas swiftly return to their daily lives.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.