The joint work of JoyNews’ Kwasi Debrah and Medical Stringer, Neta Kris Abiana Parsram has received recognition at the Merck Foundation Africa Media Recognition Awards “More Than a Mother” 2021.

Their story titled, ‘When one is not enough: The laden of secondary infertility’, came second in the online category of the awards.

https://www.myjoyonline.com/when-one-is-not-enough-the-laden-of-secondary-infertility/

Sixty-three (63) winners were recognized in various categories for the Merck Foundation Africa Media Recognition Awards 2021.

The theme of the awards was, "Raising awareness about Infertility Prevention, Breaking Infertility Stigma, and Empowering Girls and Women through Education."

The annual award which focuses on fertility, is put together by the Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com) in partnership with African First Ladies, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, in partnership with African First Ladies.

The awards were announced by Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck Foundation 'More Than a Mother' together with African First Ladies, who are also the Ambassadors of ‘Merck Foundation More Than a Mother’.

Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation celebrated the winners saying, “I am extremely proud and pleased to announce the winners of Merck Foundation Africa Media Recognition Awards ‘More Than a Mother’ 2021. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the African First Ladies for their consistent support as Ambassadors of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother."

He continued that, "I appreciate all the efforts put in by the African Media Fraternity who became the voice of the voiceless to raise awareness about sensitive social and cultural issues such as Infertility stigma and girl education action, in the past year. I have always emphasized the prominent role of media as I strongly believe that both media and art have the capacity and ability to create a culture shift in our communities in a cost-effective way. I welcome all the winners to be members of our Merck Foundation Alumni and work closely with us to support and empower women and girls at all levels.”

The ‘Merck Foundation More Than A Mother’ Awards Committee introduced second and third positions in order to select more than one winner for different categories. The awards committee also announced Special Awards, to acknowledge the high quality of work received in more than one category by the same applicant and to encourage their passion and dedication towards this noble cause.

Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, said, “I am very happy with the work showcased by all our winners; hence it gives me immense joy to announce that Merck Foundation is additionally rewarding the winners by providing them with one year access to an online educational training programme called ‘MasterClass’.

The MasterClass is an immersive online experience and self-paced learning course that can be accessed anywhere with the Internet. I encourage all the winners to be ‘Merck Foundation 'More Than A Mother' Advocate to further raise awareness about infertility, eliminate the stigma around it and support girl education. I also welcome them as valuable members of ‘Merck Foundation Alumni’.