{"id":57132,"date":"2025-12-27T09:31:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T09:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/?p=57132"},"modified":"2025-12-27T09:31:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T09:31:19","slug":"merck-foundation-and-african-and-asian-first-ladies-released-ray-of-hope-in-three-languages-to-raise-awareness-on-cancer-early-detection-and-prevention-with-special-focus-on-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/merck-foundation-and-african-and-asian-first-ladies-released-ray-of-hope-in-three-languages-to-raise-awareness-on-cancer-early-detection-and-prevention-with-special-focus-on-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Merck Foundation and African and Asian First Ladies released \u201cRay of Hope\u201d in Three Languages to Raise Awareness on Cancer Early Detection and prevention with special focus on Children Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-57140\" src=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Merck-First-Ladies-Hope-e1766827640855.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"347\" \/>ABUJA Nigeria, December 23, 2025 &#8212; <strong>Merck Foundation\u00a0<\/strong>(www.Merck-<wbr \/>Foundation.com), the philanthropic arm of\u00a0<strong>Merck KGaA, Germany,<\/strong>\u00a0in partnership with\u00a0<strong>African and Asian First Ladies<\/strong>, released a new children\u2019s storybook and its animation film adaptation titled\u00a0<strong>\u201cRay of Hope\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0to raise awareness about cancer, with a special focus on early detection, prevention and access to quality cancer care specially in childhood cancer.<\/p>\n<p>The storybook and animation film were launched by\u00a0<strong>Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO<\/strong>, together with\u00a0<strong>First Ladies of Burundi, Central Africa, The Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria, S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 &amp; Pr\u00edncipe and Senegal<\/strong>, who are also the\u00a0<strong>Ambassadors of \u201cMerck Foundation More Than a Mother\u201d<\/strong>, during the\u00a0<strong>Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative (MFFLI) Committee Meeting<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>MFFLI Committee Meeting<\/strong>\u00a0was organized as part of the\u00a0<strong>12<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Edition of the Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary<\/strong>, which took place in\u00a0<strong>The Gambia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.), CEO of Merck Foundation<\/strong>\u00a0expressed, \u201cI am very proud to release today our new children\u2019s storybook and animation film on cancer awareness, in partnership with my dear sisters, African First Ladies.<\/p>\n<p>While Childhood cancer is one of the most difficult journeys, not only for young patients but also for their families and communities. Yet, with early detection and timely treatment, there is a good chance of recovery and the possibility of a long and healthier future as majority of Pediatric cancer are treatable.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, I made sure that providing scholarships of cancer care for African healthcare providers is a main part of our strategy. Not only this but also to focus on Pediatric oncology training as much as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"cVBYVgxy66\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/pakistan-in-the-world-dec-2025\/\">Pakistan in the World &#8211; Dec 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Pakistan in the World &#8211; Dec 2025&#8221; &#8212; Pakistan In the World\" src=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/pakistan-in-the-world-dec-2025\/embed\/#?secret=qm0d4PIdVP#?secret=cVBYVgxy66\" data-secret=\"cVBYVgxy66\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur storybook, \u201cRay of Hope\u201d highlights this objective via sharing the journey of a young girl named Hope, who faces cancer with courage, resilience, and, above all, hope. The story also raises awareness about the importance of having access to a well-trained cancer care team to recognize early warning signs which you will know about when you read this storybook. These signs should never be ignored, as early detection saves lives,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>Cancer is now a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, with the disease among the three leading causes of premature death.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dr. Rasha Kelej<\/strong>\u00a0further shared, \u201cIt is important to note that nearly two-thirds of cancer cases can be treated if diagnosed early, and as many as one-third can be prevented by reducing risk factors such as exposure to radiation, certain infections, lifestyle-related causes, and more. The story raises awareness about the importance of early detection and having access to a well-trained cancer care team to recognize early warning signs. \u201c<\/p>\n<p>As a part of their Cancer Access Program, Merck Foundation provided\u00a0<strong>239 scholarships<\/strong>\u00a0for healthcare providers from 35 countries as per the following;<\/p>\n<p>Merck Foundation is establishing Multidisciplinary Oncology Care teams in many African countries by providing scholarships of One year clinical training in most of oncology sub- specialties such as; Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Pediatrics Oncology, Gynecology Oncology, Breast Oncology, Haemato-Oncology, Orthopedic Oncology, Palliative Care,<\/p>\n<p>Pathology Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Research in Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Genital Urinary oncology, Advanced Cytopathology Training, Interventional Radiology, Radiation Technician, Laboratory Technician, Oncology Nursing.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, Merck Foundation provides one year and two year Post Graduate Diploma and Master Degree of Cancer and Clinical Oncology, Medical Oncology and Pain Management from reputed Universities in UK like University of South Wales, University of Buckingham, Queen Mary University of London, and Cardiff University.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"I0Tu3Cv3gh\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/pakistan-in-the-world-september-2025\/\">Pakistan in the World \u2013 September 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Pakistan in the World \u2013 September 2025&#8221; &#8212; Pakistan In the World\" src=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/pakistan-in-the-world-september-2025\/embed\/#?secret=bWDx7B9XOH#?secret=I0Tu3Cv3gh\" data-secret=\"I0Tu3Cv3gh\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are proud to be making history in Africa by training the first Oncologists and building the first cancer care teams in several nations, ensuring that patients receive the care they deserve.\u201d\u00a0<strong>Dr. Kelej<\/strong>\u00a0added.<\/p>\n<p>Merck Foundation has over all provided more than\u00a0<strong>2500<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>scholarships for doctors from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe storybook and animation film are currently available on our social media and website and will be distributed soon in our partner countries. I believe that education through storytelling and animation is a powerful tool to build a more informed, empathetic, and healthier generation,\u201d added\u00a0<strong>Dr. Kelej<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The storybooks will have a special message from\u00a0<strong>Merck Foundation CEO, Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>African and Asian First Ladies<\/strong>\u00a0for their respective countries. Each storybook will be available in three languages English, French and Portuguese. The copies of these books will be distributed to young readers.<\/p>\n<p>Merck Foundation together with Agrican and Asian first Ladies has previously launched several storybooks and their adapted animation films addressing various health and social issues like\u00a0<strong>\u2018More Than a Mother\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>to break infertility stigma; \u2018<strong>Jackline\u2019s Rescue\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>to focus on the importance of Girls&#8217; Education and highlight the immoral practices of society including child marriage and the dowry system;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Educating Linda\u2019 &amp;<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>\u2018Ride into The Future\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>to emphasize on the importance of empowering girls through education; \u2018<strong>Not Who You Are\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>to teach boys to love and respect their future wives and eliminate domestic violence and\u00a0<strong>\u2018Sugar Free Jude\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0for Diabetes Awareness,\u00a0<strong>\u2018Mark\u2019s Pressure\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0for Hypertension Awareness.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"tH2etHzUwy\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/pakistan-in-the-world-nov-2025\/\">Pakistan in the World &#8211; Nov 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Pakistan in the World &#8211; Nov 2025&#8221; &#8212; Pakistan In the World\" src=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/pakistan-in-the-world-nov-2025\/embed\/#?secret=rAwLhrMgFI#?secret=tH2etHzUwy\" data-secret=\"tH2etHzUwy\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ABUJA Nigeria, December 23, 2025 &#8212; Merck Foundation\u00a0(www.Merck-Foundation.com), the philanthropic arm of\u00a0Merck KGaA, Germany,\u00a0in partnership with\u00a0African and Asian First Ladies, released a new children\u2019s storybook and its animation film adaptation titled\u00a0\u201cRay of Hope\u201d\u00a0to raise awareness about cancer, with a special focus on early detection, prevention and access to quality cancer care specially in childhood cancer. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[1930,117,491,397,7403,7864,2259,7863,7859,340,7862,7860],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57132"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57132"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57142,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57132\/revisions\/57142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}