NGO Joins Hands With First Ladies Of Africa To Raise Awareness On COVID-19

Merck KGaA Germany partners with African First Ladies to announced the call for entries for coronavirus ‘Stay at Home” Media Recognition Awards for African countries.

The theme of the awards is to raise awareness on how to ‘Stay Safe and keep Physically and Mentally Healthy during Coronavirus Lockdown’.

The African First Ladies involved are Ghana, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Namibia, Niger, Guinea Conakry, Burundi, Central African Republic (C.A.R.), Chad, Zimbabwe, Zambia, The Gambia, Liberia and Congo Brazzaville.

In an effort to create more awareness for the novel COVID-19, Dr Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation disclosed that the foundation has decided to initiate these awards in order to reward journalists who are raising awareness in a most effective and creative way on how to keep safe and keep physically & mentally healthy during this hard time.

“This unsettling period due to the coronavirus scare is difficult for everyone – both physically and mentally. While most countries are under a complete lockdown or restricted movement, people do not know how to handle this situation. Social Distancing is our Social Responsibility and the only way to kill Coronavirus, however, it will take a lot of courage and discipline to practice it. Taking good care of your mental and physical health is important during this period,” Dr Kelej said.

The CEO of Merck Foundation disclosed that people that are qualified to apply for the awards include all the journalists from Print, Online, Radio and Multimedia Platforms from English speaking, French-speaking, Arabic speaking and Portuguese speaking African countries. He laid emphasis on the most eligible to win these awards are the creative and influential media work aiming to raise awareness and sensitizing communities about this frightening topic on a regular basis.

Kelej disclosed that the awards are of four categories for Africa; English, French, Portuguese and Arabic speaking countries.

The Foundation will also extend the awards to Middle Eastern, Latin American and Asian countries in the next few days to involve all media across the global South.

The CEO of Merck Foundation reiterated that “Since most of the people are confined to their homes, they are spending a lot of time reading and listening to news through different platforms. Media professionals, it is your time to help the people to take care good care of their mental & physical health during these disturbing times, through your creative, informational and motivational work. You can guide them to adjust to their new and different routine & rhythm of life”.

Phases Of Merck Foundation “Stay at Home” Media Recognition Awards

Below are the full details of the ‘Stay at Home Media Recognition Awards; by Merck Foundation;

Who can Apply:

Journalists from Print, Online, Radio and Multimedia Platforms from English speaking, French-speaking, Arabic speaking and Portuguese speaking African countries

Closing date for submission:

Entries are open till the 30th June 2020.

How to apply?

Entries can be submitted via email to info@merck-foundation.com adding entry as an attachment, along with your details. In a format like this:  Name, Gender, Country, Media house, Email address & Mobile Number.