Merck Foundation, Ghana First Lady announce winners of “Merck More Than a Mother” Fashion Awards to break infertility stigma

Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany announced the winners of “Merck More Than a Mother” Fashion Awards in partnership with Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the First Lady of Ghana and Ambassador of ‘Merck More Than a Mother’.

The award winners who are students at Ghana Fashion Academies got the opportunity to exhibit their designs at the Fashion Show held during the 6th Edition of Merck Africa Asia Luminary, which was attended by African First Ladies and Ministers of Health, Gender, Information, Education and Science from more than 25 African Countries.

Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President, Merck More Than a Mother emphasized: “We initiated the “Merck More Than a Mother” Fashion Awards across all Africa with the aim to deliver strong and influential messages to empower infertile women and say ‘No to Infertility Stigma’ through their designs hoping to create meaningful fashion trend to educate their communities that ‘Fertility is a Shared Responsibility’, this fashion award is part of Merck more than a Mother community awareness. And We are happy today to acknowledge Ghana fashion award winners and looking forward to celebrating the rest of the winners across Africa”.

The awards attracted many applications, out of which, 6 best designs were chosen by the ‘Merck More Than a Mother’ committee along with The Office of First Lady of Ghana.

Mrs. Akufo-Addo stated, “It was very nice to see the designs prepared by our future fashion designers. The creativity they showcased through their designs was applaudable. The message came out clearly through their work.”

The winners of the “Merck More Than a Mother” Fashion Awards of Ghana are:

• Mr. ERIC GRUNDBERRY AIDOO
• Ms. KEZIAH ANSAH-MENSAH
• Ms. AUGUSTINA ANNAN
• Mr. BOYE DOE DAVID KUSI
• Ms. SOLACE SAKAH
• Mr. JACOB ADJETEY

The awards winners were granted $500 each to execute and showcase their designs. The winners were greatly welcomed by African First Ladies and Ambassadors of Merck More than a Mother, who handed them the awards themselves during the ceremony.

“No designer has ever, or would ever, say that he or she wanted to make things difficult for women. The fashion industry has already got enough flakes for being superficial. Fashion designers should be the storyteller of their community, they should be the voice of the voiceless. Therefore, these awards are our efforts to change the perception and create a meaningful fashion trend aiming to break the silence and educate our communities that Women are more than just Mothers and Men are more than just fathers.” added Dr. Rasha Kelej.

Source: Daily Mail GH