It will be the fourth time Mercy Ships has delivered free world-class medical care to the impoverished West African nation.
Necessary protocols and Memoranda of Understanding have been signed, providing the necessary collaboration with the government of Sierra Leone relating to port, security, water and sanitation. The recent signing also opens the door for advance teams from Mercy Ships to carry out preliminary work needed for the planned assignment.
Health care in Sierra Leone is unaffordable to most of the population and often unavailable. The country ranks 180 out of the 182 nations assessed on the 2009 Human Development Index. Most of the population lives on less than $2 a day. Infant mortality in Sierra Leone is 159 per 1000 births. Dental care is another illustration of the lack of health services, with only one dentist for every one million people.
The ten-month field service will again bring hope and healing to the nation. The state-of-the-art Africa Mercy, with six operating theatres, will provide free surgeries aimed at correcting disability, deformity and blindness. Off-ship eye and dental clinics will offer additional medical services. Other volunteers will work with community groups on a range of development projects. The hospital ship serves as a platform for training African health care professionals. These programs ensure that the positive impact of Mercy Ships will continue long after the ship leaves Sierra Leone.
Mercy Ships also works in partnership with the West African Fistula Centre in Aberdeen, founded in 2004. The clinic, now under the management of the Freedom from Fistula Foundation, offers free surgeries to women suffering from childbirth-related injury. It has the capacity to serve between 500 and 600 patients a year.
Since 1978 Mercy Ships has used hospital ships to deliver services to those without access in the developing world. Volunteers have worked in more than 70 countries. More than 1200 crew worldwide, representing more than 40 nations, are joined each year by 2000 short-term volunteers. Professionals including surgeons, dentists, nurses, health care trainers, teachers, cooks, seamen, engineers and agriculturists donated their time and skills to the effort.
www.mercyships.org.au.