Farewell Liberia
On December 16, The Africa Mercy pulled out of the Free Port of Monrovia, Liberia, ending four years of assistance by Mercy Ships in the rebuilding of Liberia’s infrastructure.
President Johnson Sirleaf visited the ship prior to departure to thank the crew, acknowledge the investment made by Mercy Ships, and to pledge that progress will be continued.
Over the past four years, Mercy Ships volunteer professionals offered free, specialised surgery, health care infrastructure developmental assistance, and community based preventive health care programmes, benefiting thousands of individuals and many communities as the nation continues to recover from 14 years of conflict.
“We've made a significant impact on the surgical backlog from Liberia's civil war during our four years there. Our volunteer crew has helped to establish a strong health care infrastructure that will allow the country to flourish in the future,” said Mercy Ships Founder and President Don Stephens.
Over the past four years, Mercy Ships professional volunteers have:
- Provided nearly 3,000 reconstructive /plastics and general surgeries.
- Seen more than 16,348 dental patients.
- Trained 33 individuals in oral health to train others and 3 dental assistants.
- Seen over 35,042 eye patients with 3,523 corrective surgeries.
- Trained two Liberian surgeons and eight eye workers.
- Provided 401 surgeries for women needing VVF/gynaecological repairs.
- Trained seven surgeons and six obstetric nurses.
- Provided 289 orthopaedic surgeries.
- Constructed two clinics, a school, and a demonstration farm.
- Fixed aspects of the city's water supply.
- Dug and rehabilitated wells and latrines in many communities.
During the final 10 months, additional training programmes were run for biomedical technicians, anaesthesiologists, administrators, strategic health care workers, palliative caregivers, pastoral and mental health workers in the country.
Wings of the JFK Medical Centre were renovated, and a ship’s dentist and team have stayed behind to continue training in a purpose built dental clinic.
Referring to the collaboration between Mercy Ships and the Liberian government over the past four years, President Sirleaf noted, “You’ve touched the lives of Liberians who could not be reached by their own government because of the lack of resources—human, financial, technical.”
According to the President’s speech, thirty years ago Liberia was known to have one of the best referral hospitals in the West African sub-region, with hospitals, clinics, and services in all 15 counties. Years of turmoil had reduced those services down to one doctor to 61,000 persons, she noted, thanking Mercy Ships for their help to address that imbalance.
The Mercy Ship heads to Tenerife for yearly maintenance, survey, and repair, and to restock before sailing in February for 10 months of service in the port of Cotonou, Benin.