Dr. Kelej shares this year’s honour with prominent African leaders, including the President of Angola, H.E. João Lourenço, the President of South Africa, H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, and the President of Ghana, H.E. John Mahama. The recognition marks the seventh consecutive year that Dr. Kelej has been featured on the influential list.
Published in a special edition, New African Magazine’s annual list highlights African leaders, innovators, and change-makers shaping the continent’s present and future across sectors such as public service, business, technology, healthcare, creativity, and social transformation.
Reacting to the recognition, Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej expressed deep appreciation for the honour, describing it as a powerful motivation to further strengthen Merck Foundation’s mission.
She said the recognition acknowledges her long-standing commitment to building healthcare capacity, empowering women living with infertility, and supporting girl education across Africa and beyond.
Under her leadership, Merck Foundation has implemented far-reaching initiatives, including the Scholarship Program for Healthcare Providers, which has provided 2,500 scholarships to medical professionals from 52 countries across 44 critical and underserved specialties. Many beneficiaries have become the first specialists in their respective countries, significantly improving access to quality and equitable healthcare.
Dr. Kelej is also the founder of the ‘More Than a Mother’, a movement, launched in 2015 to break infertility stigma, promote fertility and reproductive health awareness, address male infertility, and support women’s empowerment and girl education.
Through this initiative, Merck Foundation has supported 770 specialised fertility and reproductive health scholarships across 42 African and Asian countries, strengthening national healthcare systems.
Over the past 13 years, Dr. Kelej has also worked closely with more than 33 African and Asian First Ladies as Ambassadors of the Merck Foundation, alongside ministries, academia, policymakers, media, and international health partners in over 52 countries.
In addition to healthcare, Merck Foundation has placed strong emphasis on education as a cornerstone of women’s empowerment.
In partnership with African First Ladies, the Foundation has provided over 1,200 annual scholarships to underprivileged and high-performing African schoolgirls from 19 countries, including The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, among others.
Merck Foundation has also supported childless women economically through its “Empowering Berna” initiative, enabling beneficiaries to establish small businesses and achieve financial independence.
Widely regarded as a trailblazer, Dr. Rasha Kelej has led pioneering efforts to address some of Africa’s most pressing social and health challenges, including infertility stigma, child marriage, gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, and limited access to women’s healthcare. Through innovative engagement with media, arts and culture, she has helped amplify the voices of marginalised women and communities.
