Filed in by Olando Testimony Zeongar – 0776819983/0880-361116/life2short4some@yahoo.com
DAKAR, Senegal – Liberia’s First Lady, Mrs. Clar M. Weah, has been excluded from a major event meant for African First Ladies, at an upcoming international confab, to which the Republic of Liberia has been invited, PUNCH has reliably gathered.
Top international sources have told PUNCH that although Liberia has formally been invited to grace the 5th Edition of “Merck Africa Asia Luminary,” which commemorates the 350th Anniversary of Merck and the 1st anniversary of Merck Foundation, slated to be held in the Senegalese capital Dakar, from October 30-31, the Liberian first lady will not be among some 14 First Ladies selected to benefit from several educational and social development sessions at the confab being staged as part of events lined up for the celebrations.
The 14 First Ladies, who include Neo Jane Maisi of Botswana; Siki Bella Kabore of Burkina Faso; Denise Nkurunziza of Burundi; Brigitte Touadera of Central Africa Republic; Hinda Deyitno of Chad; Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow of The Gambia; Rebecca Naa Okaikor Akufo-Addo of Ghana; Rosa Goudiaby Vaz of Guinea Bissau; Maesaiah Thabane of Lesotho; Aissata Issoufou Mahamadou of Niger; Fatima Maada Bio of Sierra Leone; and Esther Lungu of Zambia; will all be guests of honor, while Senegalese first lady Marieme Faye Sall will deliver the keynote speech along with Mrs. Claudine Talon, the First Lady of Benin.
The CEO of Merck Foundation, Dr. Rasha Kelej, has emphasized that his organization is very proud to welcome the African first ladies as guests of honor and keynote speakers, a statement released wednesday said.
As at the time of this report, no reasons have officially been given for the exclusion of Mrs. Weah of Liberia – even though the nation she represents as First Lady has been invited, but in reference to the other First Ladies, Dr. Rasha said Wednesday that, “Together we will work on strong strategy to build healthcare capacity and provide the necessary training to establish a strong platform of experts in Diabetes, Hypertension, Cancer and Fertility care in their countries in collaboration with their offices and ministries of health.”
Twenty ministers of health and more than 500 African healthcare providers from Africa and Asia are also expected to benefit from the gathering that will be conducted under the patronage of Senegalese president Macky Sall, PUNCH understands.
During the celebrations, in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Senegal, Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck Germany is expected to conduct the 5th Edition of “Merck Africa Asia Luminary” under the patronage of President Sall of Senegal and Senegalese first lady Marieme Faye Sall.
Countries participating include: Liberia, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroun, Canada, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Côte D’ivoire, D R of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, and Guinea –Bissau.
The rest are Republic of Guinea, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherland, Niger, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tunisia, U.A.E, U.K, U.S.A, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The Merck Foundation (Merck-Foundation.com), which was established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, and it aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and advance their lives through science and technology, while Merck (MerckGroup.com/en) is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials.
Merck, which was founded in 1668, is the world’s oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma
