Merck Capacity Advancement Program to improve diabetes and hypertension healthcare capacity in Africa and Asia

Merck, in collaboration with Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), is introducing European accredited clinical diabetes management training for more than 5,000 medical students in 18 medical colleges of MUHS as part of the Merck Capacity Advancement Program in Asia. 

Dr. Stefan Oschmann, Vice Chairman and Deputy CEO of Merck, said, “Merck is pleased to collaborate with Maharashtra University of Health Sciences and Directorate of Medical Education & Research as part of our commitment to building healthcare capacity and providing sustainable access to high-quality health solutions and safe medicines in India. It marks another step in our commitment to working with governments and other stakeholders in building healthcare capacity with a focus on non-communicable diseases in various countries in Asia-Pacific, Middle East Africa and Latin America.”

Prof. Dr Arun Jamkar, Vice Chancellor of MUHS- Nashik, added, “It gives us immense pleasure to invite the stakeholders in the field of medicine and diabetes in Maharashtra In joint collaboration with DMER and Merck, this Diabetes education course aims to provide guidelines and clinical practice for prevention, diagnosis and management of diabetes and its complications for medical undergraduates of the 18 medical colleges in Maharashtra University.”

Merck Capacity Advancement Program to target more than 15,000 students by 2018

Rasha Kelej, Vice President, Head of Global Business Responsibility and Market Development, Merck Serono, said: “The lack of financial means is not the only challenge but a scarcity of trained healthcare personnel capable to tackle the prevention, diagnosis and management of diabetes at all levels of the health care systems. Therefore Merck aims to address the current constraints in the health system to effectively manage diabetes and the need for developing workable strategies for ensuring timely and appropriate management with extensive linkage and support for enhancing the availability of trained manpower as part of our commitment to contributing towards the social and economic development of India and the rest of the Asian continent.

“The socio-economic burden of the disease can be reduced by timely intervention from trained healthcare professional as many patients can be prevented from becoming diabetics if diagnosed at early stage.”

The Merck Capacity Advancement Program aims at improving opportunities for research and development, clinical research and medical education for medical and pharmacy undergraduates, physicians and pharmacists in rural areas.

As part of the Merck Capacity Advancement Program, by the end of this year, more than 5,000 medical students will benefit from European-accredited clinical diabetes and chronic diseases management training. Merck is planning to target more than 15,000 students by the end of 2018 expanding to more African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries with special focus on non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, thyroid dysfunction and fertility management. The program also focuses on building research capacity and improving supply chain in order to improve patient safety in Africa.

For more information about the Merck Capacity Advancement Program, please visit www.merckgroup.com.