Namibians scoop up Merck awards
Charlotte Nambadja and Sonja Smith as well as Maria Kandjungu and Rosalia Hipondoka won awards for their work on their Merk Foundation More Than a Mother and Diabetes & Hypertension campaigns respectively.The awards by Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, announced the winners from Namibia as well as the rest of Africa, in partnership with African First Ladies, who serve as ambassadors of Merck Foundation.
Nambadja (Desert Radio) took first place in the radio category, while Smith (The Namibian) won third spot in the print category for their More Than a Mother campaign. For their work in the Diabetes & Hypertension initiative, Kandjungu (Unwrap Online) won first place in the online category, while Hipondoka (DBS Blogposts) took third spot in the same category.
The winners were announced and acknowledged by Senator Dr Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of the More Than a Mother campaign. The theme of the More Than a Mother Awards is to raise awareness of social issues including Breaking Infertility Stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women Empowerment, Ending Child Marriage, Ending FGM, and/or Stopping GBV at all levels, while the theme of the Diabetes and Hypertension Awards is to promote a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness about prevention and early detection of diabetes and hypertension in African countries.
Kelej said: “I am excited to announce the winners from Namibia and the rest of Africa. We have 83 winners from 22 African countries in partnership with the First Ladies of Africa and ambassadors of Merck Foundation More than a Mother. Congratulations to all our winners.”
Kelej said that the media awards began in 2017, and year after year they witness a substantial increase in the number of outstanding entries from African countries.
“All our winners are the champions of critical and sensitive social and health issues in their communities. It's truly inspiring to witness how we're actively involving and engaging everyone, enabling them to be the voice of the voiceless and create a culture shift,” Kelej said.
As a bonus, Merck Foundation is rewarding the winners by providing them with one-year access to an online educational training MasterClass, which is an immersive online experience and self-paced learning course that can be accessed anywhere that has internet connectivity.
“I would also like to announce the call for applications for the Merck Foundation Africa Media Recognition Awards for “More Than a Mother” and “Diabetes and Hypertension” for 2024 These awards are in partnership the African First Ladies who are also the Ambassadors of the campaign,” Kelej concluded.