From the Field

Cotonou, Benin, 27th February, 2009.  During Mercy Ship’s first week of surgeries in Benin, the President, Dr. Thomas Yayi Boni, and several cabinet ministers visited the Africa Mercy to express gratitude for increasing access to health care for the poor in his country.   read more »

Mercy Ships held its general screening day on Thursday 19th February at the Hall des Arts, in Cotonou, Benin.

Volunteer nurses, doctors, and support staff screened 1,952 patients, but the number was so large, a second screening day took place on Friday, with over 500 additional patients seen.

Seeing that many patients in one day is challenging, even for Dr. Gary Parker, Chief Medical Officer and maxillo-facial surgeon with Mercy Ships, who has worked at nearly fifty screening days.  read more »

COTONOU, BENIN, WEST AFRICA, 10th February, 2009: Hundreds of well-wishers lined up to welcome the Africa Mercy hospital ship, and her crew into the Port of Cotonou, to begin a 10-month assignment in the nation.

Invited by Benin’s Ministry of Health, the Africa Mercy’s medical and development crew look forward to partnering with officials under the government of President Yayi Boni.  read more »

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.  read more »

More than 1,200 volunteers who have served on board the world’s largest charity hospital ship in Liberia this year are being recognised tomorrow (5th December) as part of International Volunteer Day.

The Africa Mercy relies entirely on volunteers who serve on board from as little as two weeks, with some crew having been with the charity for more than 20 years.

The ship houses up to 450 volunteers at any one time, ranging from medical staff to engineers and cooks.  read more »

In the 2008 Field Service in Liberia, the Mercy Ships HIV/AIDS programme “Tide of Hope” held three conferences to empower church leaders in serving the HIV/AIDS needs of their own communities.

During three six-day workshops, 74 participants from 13 churches increased their knowledge of HIV/AIDS.  read more »

On 26th November, Her Excellency, President Johnson Sirleaf attended a reception onboard the Africa Mercy.

The event, which was hosted by Mercy Ships to say thank you to local partners, attracted the United Nations Mission in Liberia Special Representative Ellen Margrethe Løj and a number of other UNMIL officials. Members of the American and German diplomatic corp and local church and community partners also attended.  read more »

On Friday, 21st November, Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf joined Mercy Ships and the entire community of Tenegar to celebrate the dedication of the Tenegar Clinic.

Mercy Ships and the people of Tenegar rebuilt the clinic over a 10-month period during the 2008 Liberian Field Service, and it will provide basic health care for over 6,000 people in the rural vicinity.  read more »

Like many other parts of Liberia’s medical infrastructure, anaesthesia in this post-conflict nation is in crisis. With only one anaesthesia provider per 100,000 people and only one training school in the entire nation, Liberia faces a major problem.

To combat this crisis, Dr. Keith Thomson from the UK held his second anaesthetist conference for Liberian medical workers in early November.  read more »

On October 27th, 2008, the Mercy Ships Mental Health Care team travelled to Liberia’s northern county of Lofa to facilitate a five-day workshop in Voinjama City, one of the worst affected areas of the civil war.

Dr. Lyn Westman, Mercy Ships Mental Health Care Programme Administrator, led the workshop for 200 Liberians, which emphasized behavioural counselling and the model of caring for the whole person.  read more »