Mosquito nets donated

Mercy Ships has received a generous donation of 100 mosquito nets from travel and outdoor adventure specialists, Lifemarque Limited.

The mosquito nets will be used onboard the Africa Mercy, the world’s largest charity hospital ship, which arrived in Togo last month.  The volunteer crew will provide free life saving surgeries and medical care to thousands of people over the next seven months.   Some of the nets will also be used by the Africa Mercy teams working on land-based projects.

Malaria is rife in Togo and is contracted by being bitten by an infected mosquito that is carrying the malaria parasites in its saliva. 

Pete Gostling, Marketing Manager at Lifemarque Limited said: “Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease. Minimising the risk of being bitten is extremely important when travelling in high risk malaria regions.  The mosquito nets that we have donated to Mercy Ships in Togo are very sophisticated.  Each one has been treated with long-lasting Lifesystems EX8 AntiMosquito which both repels insects and kills them on contact. The treatment lasts for up to two years or 35 washes. 

“It is a great pleasure to be able to donate practical and useful equipment to Mercy Ships that will ensure the safety of the selfless volunteers and the patients they treat.  When we first heard about the work that Mercy Ships does and about the hundreds of volunteers who provide thousands of free surgeries and medical care every year and in areas of the world that are dangerous we really wanted to help.  Being experts in international travel our mosquito nets seemed to be the perfect gift.  We are thrilled that we can help in our own way.”

Judy Polkinhorn, Executive Director of Mercy Ships UK, said, “We are extremely grateful for the kind donation of mosquito nets from Lifemarque Limited.  Not only can we use these on the ship but they can also be used for land-based projects where the risk of being bitten is higher.  Donations such as this are invaluable and we are eternally grateful for their support. 

“The safety of the patients that we treat is very important.  Our volunteers take great care to ensure that the patients visiting the ship are safe and that the risks of contracting diseases such as malaria are as low as possible.”