Four Media General journalists have been awarded by the Merck Africa Foundation for their impactful story telling prowess.
Ambassador of Merck Africa Foundation, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, who presented the awards urged the winners to continue to impact society.
The awards scheme is designed to recognize media practitioners in Africa who go the extra mile to tell impactful stories in the areas of diabetes, child marriage, ending female genital mutilation, gender-based violence, infertility stigma, and supporting girl child education.
The 2023 edition recognized three journalists from media general, while Sarah Apenkroh was awarded in the 2022 edition.
Emmanuel Samani’s story on breaking infertility stigma won him the first position in the multimedia category.
Stanley Nii Blewu came in second in the same category after telling the story of a fifteen-year-old girl forced into early marriage at Gundork in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region.
In the diabetes and hypertension category, Grace Hammoah Agyemang was adjudged the winner in the multimedia category with a sterling story about a 96-year-old man who defied all odds to rigorously exercise to keep fit from ailments associated with old age.
In 2022, Sarah Apenkroh’s culture-induced female genital mutilation story in northern Ghana propelled her to the third position.
The 4 journalists expressed their gratitude to the Merck Foundation and the First Lady and pledged to use their platforms to push advocacy and social change.
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16 other journalists from Ghana were also recognized in last year’s edition.
Mrs Rebecca Akuffo-Addo urged the award winners to continue being agents of change.
“We have done a lot of training for journalists and we are expectant that they will use the knowledge and skill from these trainings to impact their societies and be agents of desirable change,” she said.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Merck Africa Foundation, Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej, expressed excitement for creating awareness and impacting lives.
“We will continue to use our resources to help society and tell the stories of the vulnerable and those that inspire, until we get the results that reflect humanity,” she assured.
The Merck Foundation has provided scholarships to more than 1,000 doctors in developing countries to further their education in their fields of work.
