Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany’s Embracing Carers™ Launches ‘Time Counts’ to Raise 1 Million Minutes of Support for Carers

• ‘Time Counts’ launches as a social media-led video series asking the global community to collectively give 1 million minutes to better support carers
• Embracing Carers^TM, a global initiative led by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, raises awareness about the often-overlooked needs of carers and develops practical support solutions collaboratively with global carer organizations

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, today announced that its Embracing Carers™ initiative has launched ‘Time Counts,’ a social media-led video series asking friends and families of carers to collectively give 1 million minutes of their time to better support carers around the world.

“Carers are critical contributors not only to a patient’s health, but also for health systems, which would be greatly disadvantaged without the millions of hours of their silent work,” said Belén Garijo, Member of the Executive Board and CEO Healthcare at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. “Carers focus their services, energy and too often sacrifice their own health in order to help others. Through Embracing Carers^TM, we are dedicated to making carer support visible, recognized and considered a global health priority.”

Embracing Carers™ recognizes that carers dedicate so much of their own time to supporting a loved one that basic health-related activities are often selflessly sacrificed. For example, 54% of unpaid carers don’t have time to book or attend their own medical appointments, while 58% find it difficult to sleep on a regular basis, according to a 2017 Embracing Carers™ international online survey conducted by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.^[i]

‘Time Counts’ by Embracing Carers^TM hopes to assuage these time constraints by aiming to raise 1 million minutes of time to provide carers with support in their role. By sharing carer stories via social media, ‘Time Counts’ hopes to encourage viewers to visit www.embracingcarers.com to give time to help with specific tasks, such as grocery shopping, cooking a meal or checking-in to connect and let them know support is available. The aim is that through ‘Time Counts’, the global community will give time back to carers so they can better address their own health and wellbeing.

“The International Alliance of Carer Organizations (IACO) is proud to be a strategic advisor for the Embracing Carers™ initiative that has become a global force in creating awareness and recognition of carers since 2017,” said Nadine Henningsen, IACO Board Chair.  “Through innovative campaigns like ‘Time Counts’ we can build on this momentum to ensure carers are recognized and supported in their vital role.”

For more information on Embracing Carers™, visit our website at www.embracingcarers.com.

[i] Embracing Carers™ International Survey. Censuswide 27 July – 8 August, 2017