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    Merck Wants To 'Empower' Infertile Women In Africa. Can Music Videos Help?

    The songs tell women they are "more than a mother" — then promote the pharmaceutical company's fertility treatment programs. But the music videos raise some concerns.
    by Malaka Gharib Jul 09, 2019 6 minutes
    Source: Merck Foundation Via YouTube/ Screenshot by NPR

    In June, an unusual email arrived in the inbox of an NPR global health correspondent.

    The headline was: "Merck Foundation together with First Lady of Burundi release 'Plus Qu'une Mere' an empowering French Song as courtesy to all infertile women in Burundi and Africa."

    The email had a link to a video of a performance with an all-female choir. Wearing traditional African clothing printed with the Merck Foundation's logo, they sing a song with lyrics that encourage people not to blame women for infertility.

    They're performing before an audience of maybe a hundred people, most of them in similar Merck garb.

    The video raises a number of questions: Can a song be helpful to women who are infertile? What is the role of the First Lady of Burundi in this project? And ... why is nearly everyone in the choir and audience wearing the Merck logo? To learn more, NPR spoke to the Merck Foundation and to specialists who deal with infertility and the impact of musical health messages.

    A Musical Message

    The song is part, the charitable arm of the pharmaceutical company .

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