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March 20, 2025 /3BL/ – Merz Aesthetics, the world’s largest dedicated medical aesthetics business, announced their continued partnership with the North Carolina Courage, the National Women’s Soccer League team based in Cary, North Carolina, marking the partnership’s fourth consecutive year. 

“We are proud to continue our partnership with the NC Courage, an organization aligned in our shared values of the importance of confidence and empowerment of women,” said Patrick Urban, President of Merz Aesthetics North America. “Our commitment to fostering deeper community development and supporting women’s programs remains stronger than ever, and this partnership is a keystone in those efforts.” 

Merz Aesthetics is also thrilled to again sponsor the North Carolina Courage ‘Woman of the Match’ award, which will be presented at each home game this season to a woman who has made an impact in the Raleigh or broader North Carolina Triangle community. This will be the second year the community partners have showcased women who go above and beyond to help build confidence in the local community through the ‘Woman of the Match’ program. The first honoree for the new season will be recognized during the NC Courage home opener game on March 22, 2025. 

“Merz Aesthetics has been an incredible partner for several years, and we are excited to see this collaboration continue in 2025. Our two organizations came together through a shared commitment to empower and support women in sports, and that bond has only strengthened during this partnership. Our league and club have experienced significant growth in recent years, and the unwavering support of our major partners is crucial for our ongoing progress and success. We’re grateful that Merz Aesthetics shares our values and is dedicated to helping us build a best-in-class organization for our players, staff, and community,” said Courage President Francie Gottsegen. 

For the third year, the NC Courage home opener will also feature Merz Aesthetics’ corporate partner, Dress for Success Triangle, who will have their mobile ‘Confidence Boutique’ on-site at the home opener on March 22. Dress for Success Triangle will be collecting new and gently used professional handbags, uniting the local community around the organization’s mission – empowering Raleigh women to achieve economic independence by providing professional attire and the development tools to help them thrive in work and life. All those who donate to the purse drive will be entered to win a signed NC Courage jersey. 

About Merz Aesthetics 

Merz Aesthetics is a medical aesthetics business with a long history of empowering health care professionals, patients and employees to live every day with confidence. We aim to help people around the world look, feel and live like the best versions of themselves — however they define it. Clinically proven, its product portfolio includes injectables, devices and skin care treatments designed to meet each patient’s needs with high standards of safety and efficacy. Being family owned for more than 115 years, Merz Aesthetics is known for building unique connections with customers who feel like family. Merz Aesthetics’ global headquarters is in Raleigh, N.C., USA, with a commercial presence in 90 countries worldwide. It is also a part of Merz Group, which was founded in 1908 and is based in Frankfurt, Germany. Learn more at merzaesthetics.com. 

About the North Carolina Courage 

Competing in their ninth season of competition in 2025, the Courage began play in the National Women’s Soccer League (USSF Division I) in 2017. The Courage were formed when Steve Malik purchased the Western New York Flash and relocated the franchise to Cary, North Carolina. The team plays home matches at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park and is the winningest club in NWSL history, claiming seven league trophies as three-time NWSL Shield winners (2017, 2018, 2019), two-time NWSL Champions (2018, 2019), and two-time UKG NWSL Challenge Cup champions (2022, 2023). The Courage also won the 2018 ICC Championship. Follow the Courage on the web at www.nccourage.com and on social media @TheNCCourage. 

© 2024 Merz North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Merz, Merz Aesthetics, MAX Merz Aesthetics Exchange and the Merz Aesthetics Confidence To Be Logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KGaA in the U.S. 

Media Contact: 
Tyra Sitton 
Senior Director, Strategic Marketing Communications, North America

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Posted on Action Against Hunger.

Afghanistan faces one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crisis

According to recent estimates, 22.9 million people – about half of Afghanistan’s population – require humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs, such as health care, food, and clean drinking water. Aid organizations are struggling to meet the needs of an estimated 3.5 million acutely malnourished children due to a combination of funding gaps and access issues.

Bringing Healthcare Closer to Communities 

Action Against Hunger operates in six provinces in Afghanistan, including the four provinces most affected by food insecurity: Badakhshan, Ghor, Kabul, and Helmand. Our teams run seven Therapeutic Feeding Units (TFU) where they admit and treat children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. However, the geographic coverage of the TFU remains limited. The recommended maximum distance a person should be from health services is 3 miles, and data from Action Against Hunger’s units shows that 60% of people travel more than that. Therefore, many provinces and remote areas remain underserved, leaving many communities at risk of not receiving proper healthcare.

In 2024, Action Against Hunger and the Organization for Community Coordination and Development (OCCD) established two Family Health Houses in Ghor and Badakhshan provinces. Known as “Ashiana-e-Sehi” in the local language, these houses are community-based facilities that deliver health and nutrition services to remote areas where people are most vulnerable.

In the Badakhshan province, Samullah Ahamdi manages a Family Health House in a remote community called Laghayer Village. “This district is home to approximately 42,000 people, many of whom endure chronic poverty, persistent health challenges, and food insecurity. Some villages are located up to 13 miles from this center, while Faizabad [the province capital] is over 43 miles away,” he explains. “Since this facility opened, women have been coming regularly for medical check-ups and deliveries. Most of the residents are unable to afford travel to other health centers, so they are grateful to have the Family Health House within a reasonable distance from their villages.”

The challenge of people’s distance from health clinics is exacerbated by poor road conditions that cause frequent car accidents and pose significant risks for residents seeking medical care. Badakhshan, a rugged mountainous region, is one of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable provinces to environmental challenges, dealing with recurring landslides and flooding. During heavy winter snowfall, roads often become obstructed. In such cases, people must sometimes be carried long distances on stretchers to reach health facilities. Additionally, the winter season forces residents to grapple with food shortages and health issues due to a lack of permanent employment, leaving them unable to afford food, medicine, or transportation to health clinics.

Offering A Wide Range of Services and Assistance 

A singular Family Health House can serve up to 3,000 people with a variety of services. These include outpatient consultations, delivery care, family planning, and nutrition support for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Children can receive vaccinations and treatment for severe or moderate malnutrition. Women coming to the facility for delivery also get hygiene kits to support their antenatal and postnatal care.

In Badakhshan, where many people rely on agriculture to survive, high levels of food insecurity are driven by climate shocks, unemployment and high food prices. Some families endure days without food. Action Against Hunger launched a program that distributes food baskets to people with malnutrition. Each basket typically contains flour, oil, rice, beans, and salt. A food voucher system is also in place to assist families with children who have been discharged from the TFU.

Listening to Underserved Communities 

Nafas Gul is one of many residents who sought help in the Family Health House. She lives in the remote village of Robat Gelak with her extended family of 13 members.

“I lost my first daughter, who was 20, due to kidney problems. I couldn’t afford to rent a car or pay for doctor’s fees or check-ups, and as a result, she passed away. Afterward, my second daughter fell ill and spent ten years living in isolation. Thanks to the care provided by this clinic and its doctors, she is now doing well,” Nafas said. “We are truly grateful to have a clinic nearby, and we are satisfied with the services they offer. Traveling to distant clinics in Kunduz, Takhar, or Faizabad by donkey or car is a great challenge for us. The clinic’s counseling sessions and the medication they provide for my daughter mean a lot to us.”

Considering the frequent floods and earthquakes in the province, the program also provides psychosocial care, and Psychosocial First Aid (PFA) training for community health workers.

In Ghor and Badakhshan, Family Health Houses made significant progress in health and nutrition activities. A total of 2,423 children under five, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and adolescents received primary health care (PHC) services. Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) for children under five surpassed expectations, with 3,444 consultations conducted this year. This tremendous work and the results demonstrate the critical need for healthcare services in these remote areas. These services are essential to the well-being of communities in Afghanistan, and any potential closure of the facilities would put many at risk.