Africa Mercy leaves Sierra Leone

The Africa Mercy has now completed a 10 month field service in the Sierra Leone where around 1000 volunteers from 40 nations have provided free medical care and humanitarian aid to thousands of the country’s poorest people. They are about 400 volunteers onboard at any one time.

Volunteers waving goodbye to Freetown

The charity reports that since February, the volunteer medical teams have performed more than 2,700 free surgeries such as tumour removal, cleft lip and palate correction, cataract removal, orthopaedics and skin grafts for burns victims. Volunteer dental teams have also carried out more than 28,700 dental procedures, providing essential dental care in a country that has only one dentist for every 1million people.

Leone is one of the world’s least developed countries and healthcare in Sierra Leone is largely unavailable for the poor with the majority of the population living on less than £1.20 per day.

As I mentioned earlier in this blog, HRH The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence witnessed first-hand the work of Mercy Ships during their trip to Sierra Leone in October.



Judy Polkinhorn, Executive Director of Mercy Ships UK, said, “This was Mercy Ships’ seventh visit to Sierra Leone and the team this year has worked extensively with the Ministry of Health and local hospitals to focus on capacity building and the training of local doctors, anaesthetists, nurses and other health professionals.

The country is still recovering from its 11 year civil war and its people are still in need of hope and healing - which I am proud to say we have been able to provide.”

In 2012 the Africa Mercy will be based first in Togo, then in Guinea.