Mercy Ships: What you should know

What is Mercy Ships ?

Mercy Ships is an international faith-based organization bringing hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor. As many as 5 billion people lack access to safe, affordable surgical and anesthesia services worldwide, and less than 6% of all operations are delivered to the world’s poorest countries.

Marginalized populations continue to suffer due to a lack of trained healthcare providers, inadequate infrastructure, and disproportionate out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Mercy Ships programs offer holistic support to developing nations striving to make healthcare accessible for all. The countries served by Mercy Ships are ranked as the poorest in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index.

What does Mercy Ships do?

Mercy Ships works with host nations to strengthen the local healthcare delivery system while serving the surgical needs of the host country. Mercy Ships also provides a variety of training opportunities for medical professionals (surgeons, nurses, anesthesia providers, administrators and community health workers).

Collaborating with qualified local and international partners, Mercy Ships programs offer holistic support to developing nations. Mercy Ships has provided services and materials in developing nations including the following:

Performed more than 82,000 life-changing or life-saving operations such as cleft lip and palate repair cataract removal, orthopedic procedures, facial reconstruction and obstetric fistula repair
Treated over 147,000 dental patients including over 390,000 dental procedures
Trained more than 5,900 local professionals (including surgeons) who have in turn trained many others
Trained over 38,100 local professionals in their area of expertise (anesthesiology, midwifery, sterilization, orthopedic and reconstructive surgery, leadership)
Taught over 198,000 local people in basic healthcare
Completed over 1,100 infrastructure development and agriculture projects

Mercy Ships Cameroon

What is Mercy Ships doing in Cameroon?

The Mercy Ship has been in Douala since August 2017 and would be there till June 2018 to carry out selected surgical operations. About 5000 operations are expected to be carried out during the exercise and surgeries shall be on the following health conditions:

Maxillo-facial
Plastic and reconstructive surgery
Orthopaedic surgery
General surgery
Ophthalmic surgery

They offer Free Dental Care: every Monday and every Thursday. Venue: Maison du Parti, Douala – Bonanjo as from 8:30 am .No Registration Required.

Mercy Ships Cameroon now provides treatment for children with club feet. Clubfoot, a deformity that is present at birth in about one in every 1,000 children. It occurs in males more often than females and can affect one or both feet. The feet of an infant with clubfoot point down and inward. It is not painful, but it must be corrected to avoid a lifetime of disability.

Is screening still going on?

Yes! Screening for obstetric fistula is still ongoing.

Obstetric Fistula: may be explained as an opening between the bladder and the vagina causing leakage or continuous flow of urine. It can also be defined as an opening between the rectum and the vagina causing continuous or intermittent stools. It is usually caused by deliveries too prolonged and difficult labor; happening sometimes several days, without timely obstetric intervention (usually a caesarean section), in order to put an end to the excessive pressure exerted by the fetus on the woman’s organ.

Patients with this condition can go to the Assembly Point (Maison du Parti in Bonanjo, Douala) to be registered.

Patients from other areas in Cameroon should go their closest district hospital and inform the staff that they would like to register for Mercy Ships.

Follow them on Facebook and stay up to date with their activities in Cameroon; Mercy Ships Cameroon

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