First Lady Madam Sajidha Mohamed has concluded her visit to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and returned to Malé after attending the 7th Edition of the Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative Summit (MFFLI).
The First Lady attended the Summit which took place from 18 to 19 June as Guest of Honour, where she delivered a keynote address during the Inauguration Session and spoke at the Committee Meeting.
In her speech, the First Lady congratulated Merck Foundation as it marks their 8th anniversary as a philanthropic foundation and an overall of 13 years conducting various social development programmes. She thanked the Merck Foundation for naming her an Ambassador of the Merck Foundation’s “More Than A Mother” campaign and expressed appreciation for facilitating fertility and embryology training scholarships for local doctors in the Maldives. She noted that this is a critical speciality facing a shortage of skilled professionals.
The First Lady further noted ongoing efforts to increase access to affordable and quality healthcare across the Maldives and expressed interest in sustaining long-term technical partnerships to improve healthcare services across the country. She highlighted the importance of building community awareness and improving services related to cancer screening and mental health, as well as supporting women’s leadership in the health sector.
The First Lady shared with other attending First Ladies the community awareness initiative in the Maldives, developed in partnership with the Merck Foundation, to raise awareness of infertility stigma, gender-based violence, women’s empowerment, and issues such as diabetes and hypertension. She briefed about the institutionalisation of gender equality policies under the Gender Equality Action Plan that supports women entrepreneurs, increases women’s access to justice, and helps to prevent violence against women.
This year’s Summit brought together 14 First Ladies from Africa and Asia. Discussions focused on prevalent social issues, including combating the stigma surrounding infertility, promoting girls’ education, empowering women, and strengthening healthcare capacities in areas facing specialist shortages.