Take away
heavy burdens

Deformities in Developing Nations

Why is the need so extreme?

For the poor in developing nations, accessing necessary medical and surgical care is extremely difficult due to their remote location, lack of medical facilities and financial constraints. Conditions that would be treated in the early stages in developed nations, grow to the point of being life threatening. The consequence for many is a lifetime of disability, rejection and sometimes even death.

In Africa, few countries have functional health care systems, which include hospitals, clinics, medical providers, etc. According to the World Health Organization, there is a critical shortage of all types of medical providers in developing nations. Due to the lack of general and specialized health care, general surgical needs, such as hernias and goitres, plague this region’s adult and paediatric populations.

Transformational health care through onboard Surgery Programs

Surgery

Mercy Ships seeks to relieve the burden of disease and affliction such as hernias and goitres among the poor and outcast by providing specialized, corrective surgical interventions, through the Specialized Surgical Solutions program. Mercy Ships works in partnership with local governments, as well as with a variety of NGOs and physicians in the country, to provide specialized surgeries that will facilitate life-enhancing and, in many cases, life-saving transformations.

Accomplishment

Through all of the surgical programs, Mercy Ships has performed more than 78,000 life-changing operations including hernia repairs and tumour removals.

Recovery & Counselling

Patients recuperate under world-class care in the ship’s hospital ward and outpatient care in the HOPE Centre (Hospital Out-Patient Extension) where they are also provided with opportunity for moral and spiritual support. Mercy Ships aims to provide a caring, holistic environment to help patient recovery.