NIGERIA—The 2nd World Infertility Awareness Summit, has been held by the Merck Foundation, the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS), and the Africa Reproductive Care Society (ARCS).
The summit was conducted under the Merck Foundation, “More than a Mother” campaign, which is spearheaded by Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation.
Dr. Kelej is also Chairperson of the ARCS and co-hosted the event with Dr. Edgar Mocanu, President of IFFS, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru OFR, President of ARCS, and President of the Nigerian Academy of Medical Specialties.
The summit attracted more than 500 participants including Merck Foundation partners and Alumni who are future Fertility Specialists, Reproductive and Sexual Care Specialists, Embryologists, Healthcare Providers, Policy Makers, and Media Professionals on the African Continent.
The participants were drawn from over 50 countries in Africa and beyond, and 4,500 online viewers on our social media platforms.
Dr. Kelej said during her presentation that the summit was founded on raising awareness about infertility, especially male infertility.
She also insisted the program is geared towards sensitizing communities to end the stigma associated with infertility and empower infertile women & couples through access to information, education, health, and a change of mindset.
Dr. Kelej emphasized, “I am very proud of our Merck Foundation More Than a mother campaign in partnership with African First Ladies, Ministries of Health, Academia, and Fertility Societies.”
She also noted the campaign had provided more than 490 scholarships to young doctors from 39 countries to be the local fertility experts in their respective countries.
Additionally, the majority of the trained would be the first local fertility experts in their countries where they never had even a single local embryologist or fertility specialist before example in The Gambia, Burundi, Guinea, Chad, Niger, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Malawi.
The objectives of the Summit were to raise awareness about infertility especially male infertility as well as to highlight preventive measures for infertility in Africa and developing countries.
The summit would also prioritize discussions on the challenges and define solutions to improve access to quality and equitable Infertility, Sexual & Reproductive Care via building healthcare capacity and raising community awareness.
There was also a session designed to help define interventions to break the infertility stigma around women and couples.
Dr. Edgar Mocanu stated, “The aim of the summit is to ensure that the voice of the infertile is heard. I know enormous efforts have been taken in Africa and organizations are working tirelessly to focus on the African continent.”
Prof. Oladapo Ashiru OFR added that infertility was not only a medical issue but also a social issue as it affects the psychological health of the women suffering from infertility stigma due to emotional distress and physical violence too in some cases.
“Infertility can be prevented by adopting various measures like switching to a healthy lifestyle example quitting smoking, reducing stress and anxiety, and ending the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM),” Prof Ashiru mentioned.
Merck Foundation’s “More Than a Mother” campaign addressing infertility in Africa
Dr. Kelej notes that the campaign is a strong movement that aims to empower women living with infertility through access to information, education, change of mindset, and economic empowerment.
The campaign supports defining interventions to build quality and equitable Reproductive and Fertility Care Capacity, Break Infertility Stigma and Raise Awareness about Infertility Prevention and Male Infertility.
Imperatively, to achieve the goal, Merck Foundation has trained more than 2200 media representatives from more than 30 countries to raise community awareness and break the stigma around infertility and infertile and childless women.
Furthermore, Merck Foundation has also been empowering childless and infertile women through their “Empowering Berna” initiative under their “More Than a mother” movement.
“Empowering Berna” helps African women shunned for being infertile by helping them to get trained to establish small businesses so that they can be independent and rebuild their lives.
Towards recognizing efforts to address infertility, Merck Foundation annually launches their ‘More Than a Mother’ awards in partnership with African First Ladies, media, fashion, filmmaking, musicians, students, and potential talents in these fields.
Moreover, Dr. Kelej also announced calls for application to the Merck Foundation Africa Research Summit (MARS 2023).
The aim of the MARS 2023 is to empower African young researchers & women researchers, advancing their research capacity and promoting their contribution to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
MARS will have scientific support from African Union Scientific-Technical and Research Commission (AU-STRC); Infectious Diseases Institute, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda; Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI); African Reproductive Care Society (ARCS), International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS); and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).
“I am looking forward to the entries from young African researchers and also women researchers”, underscored Dr. Kelej.
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