SIERRA LEONE – The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excellency Julius Maada Bio and Mercy Ships have announced an expansion of their strategic medical partnership to strengthen surgical care in the country.
Mercy Ships is an international faith-based organization that operates hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, medical capacity building, and health system strengthening to those with little access to safe surgical care.
Sierra Leone’s President and the global humanitarian organization have extended their existing protocol agreements for their newest hospital ship, the Global Mercy® to visit the Western African state.
When the Global Mercy docks in the host nation’s port, crew will provide free surgical care for thousands of people, training for local healthcare workers and more.
“All services by Mercy Ships are provided free of charge to the participant, thanks to donors around the world and their support of the volunteer professionals onboard their hospital ships,” the organization said.
The organization further announced that the Global Mercy is scheduled to visit Dakar Senegal early 2023 for several months prior to Sierra Leone.
The partnership will support the Sierra Leonean Government’s vision to ensure a functional national health system delivering efficient, high-quality healthcare services that are accessible, equitable and affordable for all.
It also paves the way for Mercy Ships to continue to engage closely with the Government of Sierra Leone and to strengthen their joint commitment to improving access to safe surgical care.
The Head of State lauded Mercy Ships for the organization’s continuous humanitarian and medical support towards providing treatment to people with various medical conditions worldwide.
“This partnership agreement which was signed before the COVID-19 pandemic hit includes a 10-month Global Mercy deployment for free surgical care in partnership with local institutions in Sierra Leone,” he said.
He further said the hospital ship will serve as a platform for training the country’s healthcare professionals to build capacity since a collaborative approach is the strongest way to strengthen health systems.
“Programs will ensure that the positive impact of Mercy Ships will continue long after the ship leaves the shores of Sierra Leone,” President Julius Maada pointed out.
Mercy Ships CEO Gert van de Weerdhof highlighted they are planning a future return to Sierra Leone while noting that it will be the organization’s sixth field service working alongside the Government.
“Now, we can fully step into an important season of assessing existing needs and identifying how we can best support to deliver hope and healing to those in tremendous need of surgical care,” he added.
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