Upbeat328 scholarships, 44 specialties: Kenya's young doctors are being trained where they are needed most
At Kenya State House in Nairobi, the celebration was for the people who will staff the clinics. The Merck Foundation marked its Kenya Alumni Summit 2026 alongside First Lady Rachel Ruto, its ambassador for the 'More Than a Mother' campaign, and Health Minister Aden Duale. Through the partnership, 328 young Kenyan healthcare providers have received scholarships across 44 critical and underserved specialties — and nearly half of them went to women. The foundation also brought its Educating Linda programme, which supports girls' schooling, to Kenya. CEO Dr Rasha Kelej called the alumni 'the future healthcare experts of Kenya' — trained not abroad and lost, but for the system they will serve at home.
SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: institutional program