Media Release

Udupi, Nov 12: In many cultures, childless women suffer discrimination, stigma, and ostracism. Their inability to have children results in great isolation, disinheritance, and assaults. Training of African doctors in KMC Manipal through the ‘Merck more than a Mother’ campaign initiated by Merck Foundation, a philanthropic organization in Germany, there is a chance that when women in distant Africa overcome infertility, they will thank Manipal.

The African doctors who completed the MAHE – Merck Foundation IVF Embryology training program received their certificates from Vasanthi R Pai, Trustee, Manipal Academy of Higher Education yesterday.

Societal pressure is such that be it in India or Africa, infertility makes a woman feel inadequate, the people around her adding to the trauma.

“While both the man and woman are equally contributing to the causes of infertility, it is only a woman who suffers from the trauma caused due to infertility’’ said Dr H S Ballal, pro chancellor of MAHE while addressing the African doctors.

‘’As the opportunities are very limited, the initiative taken by Manipal is immensely helping to shape our carrier path in IVF and to help needy in our country” said Dr Evans Kofi Agbeno a Gynecologist from Ghana who received IVF Embryology training in Manipal.

“To address the lack of trained and skilled health professionals in this area, KMC is aiming to scale up the embryology training program to the other countries.’’ said Dr Sharath Rao, dean of KMC Manipal.

“So far about seventy embryologists and gynecologists from twenty-one African countries have received training in Manipal and now helping people in their countries’’ said Dr Satish Adiga, coordinator of the training programme.