African first ladies in fresh push to end infertility stigma

Speaking at the 9th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary Conference in Dubai on Tuesday, the first ladies mentioned the need for a positive attitude among the public in order to help demystify challenges infertile couples go through.

Stigma against childless couples is a “gross injustice” Ghana’s First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo said.

She commended the Merck Foundation’s “More Than a Mother” initiative for breaking the stigma around infertility.

Mrs Akufo-Addo recalled the stigma and trauma she saw infertile women go through while she was growing up and called for a cultural shift that supports women.

The event was attended by African first ladies from 15 countries, healthcare practitioners, journalists, and academia-- convened with the aim of seeking ways to stem infertility stigma as well as improving access to quality and equitable healthcare solutions.

Monica Chakwera, Malawian First Lady called for a behavior and mindset change to address the challenges infertile women and couples face on the continent.

 Chakwera pledged her support to improve the welfare of infertile women who are subjected to different forms of abuse. 

“On behalf of the people of Malawi, we welcome the long-term partnership with Merck Foundation and with all of you first ladies of Africa to establish a strong platform of specialized and well-trained health experts to transform the healthcare sector in Malawi,” she said.

The chief executive of the Merck Foundation, Rasha Kelej, commended African first ladies for their contribution toward breaking infertility stigma in Africa and training more specialized doctors on the continent.

She said in partnership with 20 African first ladies as ambassadors of “More Than a Mother” campaign, the Foundation has provided more than 1470 scholarships to young doctors from 50 countries.

“Scholarships of one-year, two-year, and three-year diploma and master’s degrees in more than 32 critical and underserved specialties are provided to these doctors,” she said.

“I am very proud that out of these over 650 are female medical graduates. This is close to 50% of the total beneficiaries, which is a great milestone for us.”

Kelej, also a Senator in the Egyptian Senate, explained that the Merck Foundation’s ‘More Than a Mother initiative’ was designed to break the stigma around infertility in Africa.

The conference discussed strategies and solutions to improve quality healthcare delivery in African countries as well as in parts of Asia and Latin America.

Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, the Chairman of Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, hailed African first ladies for their role in raising awareness on infertility, diabetes, hypertension and other diseases in their respective countries.

The training provided by Merck Foundation to medics has contributed significantly to improving healthcare delivery across countries, he said.