University Malaya to train medical practitioners from Africa, SEA and developing countries

KUALA LUMPUR: The University of Malaya (UM) has been chosen by the Merck Foundation to train healthcare practitioners from Africa, Southeast Asia and developing countries in the field of diabetes, oncology, hypertension and infertility, starting this year.
Merck Foundation chief executive officer, Dr Rasha Kelej said that UM was the first university in the country to collaborate with the Merck Foundation to empower quality and equitable healthcare in developing countries
"With the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Merck and UM here today, the fellowship programme has now being extended from three countries currently.
"The foundation has collaborated with University of Nairobi in Kenya, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai in India and University of Alexandria, Cairo in Egypt since Sept 2016 on the same field of work," she said.
In 2017, over 100 candidates from Africa and Asia benefited from the programme and with UM in the list, the foundation aims to increase the expert level of medical practitioners, especially from Africa.
Only one candidate from each field will be chosen by Merck to undergo the two-year intensive training that will be held in UM.
Meanwhile, UM Faculty of Medicine's dean Prof Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman said the collaboration exemplified an effort to help improve healthcare quality for underserved communities around the world. — Bernama