Illuminating Lives in Sierra Leone and Madagascar, and planning for Ghana in 2025

The Africa Mercy has arrived in the port of Toamasina, Madagascar, and will begin a 10-month field service. For the first three months the vessel will focus on building relations and fostering partnerships with the government of Madagascar, and advancing Education, Training, and Advocacy initiatives in conjunction with expanding the surgical schedule. The first surgeries are scheduled to commence in May 2024. This wonderful mission is thanks to the volunteers, local partners, and every one of our wonderful supporters and donors. Because of you, patients, families and communities will receive life-transforming surgeries. The Global Mercy has been operating in Sierra Leone since August of 2023 and is scheduled to depart on June 2024 for Tenerife where the ship will undergo a short maintenance and resupply period. Mercy Ships Canada is excited to inform you that the Global Mercy will return to Sierra Leone in August 2024 to begin its second field service and will serve the residents of this beautiful country until the second quarter of 2025. Stay tuned !

Current Activities

Return to Sierra Leone and Madagascar in 2024 and Planning for Ghana in 2025

Meet some of our canadian volunteers serving in Sierra Leone:

Mercy Ships Canada is gearing up for another historic year, for the first time in 2024 both the Africa Mercy and the Global Mercy will be conducting simultaneous and full field services in the year 2024.

The Africa Mercy will be arriving in Madagascar in February 2024, and we are so excited to be returning to this beautiful country. Our last field service in Madagascar was in 2015 and we are looking forward to renewing acquaintances and establishing new partnerships with the government, local health officials, and the children and adults who need life-changing or lifesaving surgeries.

With a rich history spanning over two decades in Sierra Leone, the Global Mercy will be finishing up its first field service of 2023 in July and will return for much need maintenance and resupply of medical and ships supplies to ensure the vessel remains operatable and able to provide life-altering service to the people of Sierra Leone during its second field service.

During both field services in Sierra Leone, Mercy Ships will continue to deploy its newest, purpose-built hospital ship in Freetown, in delivering essential surgical and dental care. Additionally, the ship will serve as a hub for advanced medical training and mentoring on board.

As President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone stated just prior to the first field service, Mercy Ships, provides a continuous humanitarian and medical support towards providing treatment to people with various medical conditions worldwide. As the President noted " The partnership agreement, signed before the onset of COVID-19, includes a 10-month deployment of the Global Mercy, offering free surgical care in collaboration with local institutions in Sierra Leone. The hospital ship will play a crucial role in training healthcare professionals and building capacity within the national health system. Mercy Ships is so pleased that an agreement has been reached with the President of Sierra Leone for a second field service in Freetown starting in August of 2024 and continuing into the second quarter of 2025. Standby for more information on this exciting development.

Mercy Ships is also continuing to formalize plans for a 2025-2026 field service in Ghana. A meeting was held between our international programs team which included Dr. Juliette Tuakli and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and government officials in Ghana in September of 2023. This meeting is part of our 5-year planning strategy of allowing time to effectively ramp up, assess the needs of the host country, establish diplomatic relationships, select patients, and plan effective surgery schedules.

With the help of our volunteers and donors, Mercy Ships Canada remains committed to our mission: following the 2000-year-old model of Jesus to bring Hope and Healing. We live out this mission to serve African people by efficiently using the two-ship platform providing direct surgical care and partnering with the African healthcare community by building sustainable medical capacity in the countries we serve.

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