Source: APO
- Building local medical expertise while creating the social understanding and acceptance needed to access fertility care without shame or stigma
Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation (https://Merck-Foundation.com/), has been driving a comprehensive approach to transform fertility care and break infertility stigma through Merck Foundation’s “More Than a Mother” movement, addressing not only the shortage of trained fertility specialists but also the social, cultural, religious and communication barriers that prevent women and couples from seeking and benefiting from quality fertility care.
“Lasting change rarely comes from solving only the problem you can see. A leader must identify—and then work on—the many layers surrounding it,” says Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.).
For Dr. Rasha, the “More Than a Mother” movement was never simply about providing scholarships to fertility specialists and embryologists. It was about changing the entire environment around infertility.
“If there were no trained specialists, we had to build medical capacity. If stigma prevented women and couples from seeking care, we had to change perceptions. If misinformation was being reinforced through public narratives, we had to engage and train the media. If deeply rooted cultural or religious beliefs created resistance, we had to enter those conversations respectfully,” explains Dr. Rasha.
Building Local Fertility Expertise
A key pillar of the movement has been to build sustainable local medical expertise. More than 800 scholarships for healthcare providers from 42 countries have been provided as part of the “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” movement, supporting specialized training in fertility care and contributing to the development of the first local fertility specialists and embryologists in many countries where there was not even a single local specialist.
Dr. Rasha’s objective was not simply to train doctors, but to ensure that women and couples could access quality fertility and reproductive care in their own countries, through public hospitals, private centers and academic institutions, while ensuring that this expertise could be sustained over time.
“My objective was to build local expertise so that women and couples could have access to quality fertility and reproductive care in their own countries,” says Dr. Rasha.
This approach reflects a fundamental principle of the “More Than a Mother” movement: access to fertility care should not depend on geography, social status or the ability to travel abroad.
Going Beyond the Healthcare System
However, Dr. Rasha recognized that training doctors alone would never be enough.
Infertility is surrounded by stigma and misconceptions, with women often carrying a disproportionate burden of blame. In some communities, cultural and religious beliefs also create resistance to fertility treatment.
To address these deeply rooted perceptions, the movement went beyond the healthcare system and brought together Africa’s First Ladies, Ministries, healthcare professionals, media, artists, religious leaders and community leaders.
Dr. Rasha partnered with Africa’s First Ladies to become Ambassadors of the “More Than a Mother” movement, using their influence to reach communities and contribute to a culture shift around infertility.
Listening to Communities First-Hand
Dr. Rasha also personally visited communities, including rural areas, across Burundi, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, Guinea Conakry, Chad, Niger and the Central African Republic.
During these visits, she listened to women, couples, doctors, community leaders and religious leaders and witnessed first-hand the stigma surrounding infertility and, particularly, the enormous burden placed on women.
These experiences reinforced the need for an approach that addressed infertility from every direction rather than treating it only as a medical issue.
Making Media Part of the Solution
Changing public perceptions also required changing the way infertility was discussed.
Together with local media societies, Merck Foundation provided health media training to journalists and media professionals, helping ensure that infertility could be discussed accurately, sensitively and responsibly.
The objective was not simply to inform journalists, but to make the media part of the solution, rather than unintentionally reinforcing infertility stigma.
The movement also launched annual media and creative awards, encouraging journalists, filmmakers, fashion designers, musicians, singers and other artists to use their influence and creativity to address infertility stigma and other critical health and social issues.
Through articles, films, songs, fashion, storytelling and other forms of creative expression, the movement has taken these messages beyond traditional healthcare settings and reached people in ways that medical conferences alone could not.
Creating an Ecosystem for Change
The “More Than a Mother” movement therefore brings together many voices because changing deeply rooted perceptions requires a collective effort.
“We engaged First Ladies, Ministries, healthcare professionals, media, artists, religious and community leaders because changing such deeply rooted perceptions requires many voices working toward the same goal,” says Dr. Rasha.
This is why Dr. Rasha considers the achievement to be much more than a medical training program.
The movement has worked to build an ecosystem in which local medical expertise develops alongside the social understanding and acceptance necessary for women and couples to actually seek and benefit from that expertise.
A Vision Beyond Access to a Doctor
At the heart of Dr. Rasha’s vision is a simple principle: no woman should be blamed for infertility, and no couple should be denied the possibility of appropriate care simply because specialized expertise does not exist in their country.
True access to fertility care means more than having a trained doctor or a fertility center.
It means that the expertise is available, communities understand that infertility is a medical condition, women are no longer blamed, and couples feel able to seek care without shame or stigma.
Through “More Than a Mother,” the approach has therefore been to address the problem from every direction: build medical capacity, change perceptions, challenge misinformation, engage communities, work with First Ladies and other influential stakeholders, strengthen responsible media coverage, and use creativity to reach people beyond conventional healthcare communication.
This comprehensive approach reflects Dr. Rasha’s belief that lasting change requires looking beyond the problem that is immediately visible and working on the many layers surrounding it.
“My vision was simple from the beginning: no woman should be blamed for infertility, and no couple should be denied the possibility of appropriate care simply because specialized expertise does not exist in their country,” concluded Dr. Rasha Kelej.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Merck Foundation.
