"I am truly proud to mark the 10th Anniversary of the “More Than a Mother” movement, which I founded in 2015. It has been an extraordinary journey—one that is deeply personal and very close to my heart.
I am delighted to share “Jackeline’s Rescue”, an animation film developed in partnership with my dear sisters, the African First Ladies. Through this new children’s storybook and animation film, we aim to strongly highlight the importance of girls’ education and its power to transform lives and communities.
I created “More Than a Mother” to break the stigma of infertility and to empower women living with infertility by improving access to information, education, healthcare, and—most importantly—a change in mindset.
Over the past decade, I have been honoured to work closely with more than 33 African and Asian First Ladies from countries including Zimbabwe, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, São Tomé & Príncipe, Nigeria, Mozambique, Maldives, Malawi, Liberia, Kenya, Ghana, Gambia, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Cabo Verde, Burundi, Botswana, and Angola. Together, as Ambassadors of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”, we have built reproductive and fertility care capacity, broken infertility stigma, and championed girls’ education.
The “Educating Linda Program”, an integral part of the “More Than a Mother” movement, has supported girls’ education by providing over 1,200 scholarships to bright but underprivileged schoolgirls across several African countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Together, we are creating real and lasting impact—fostering a cultural shift to respect women whether they are mothers or not, encouraging men to speak openly about infertility and support their wives through treatment, and reinforcing our shared belief that: “Infertility is not a stigma; it is a shared responsibility."
Dr. Rasha Kelej
CEO of Merck Foundation
President of “More than a Mother”
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