Impact Report | October 2023

Who we are

Mercy Ships is a pioneering global health charity. Our hospital ships deliver free, life-changing surgeries to people of all faiths and none across sub-Saharan Africa.

An international, faith-based organisation, Mercy Ships partners with African nations to provide training to local healthcare professionals and build stronger medical services.

Each year, more than 3,000 volunteers from more than 60 countries serve onboard the world’s two largest charity hospital ships, the Africa Mercy and the Global Mercy.

Our inspiring crew includes surgeons, nurses, dentists, cooks, engineers and teachers who all dedicate their time to give patients expert medical care.

“This is history in the making… more lives and communities transformed, more opportunities to train healthcare workers and strengthen surgical systems.”

Nathan Claus, Director of Clinical Services, Mercy Ships

Image: Crowds welcome the Global Mercy in Senegal.

MISSION

Mercy Ships follows the 2,000-year-old model of Jesus, bringing hope and healing to people facing unjust poverty.

VISION

Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to transform individuals and serve nations one at a time.

IMPACT

VALUES

• Love God

• Love and serve others

• Be people of integrity

• Strive for excellence in all we say and do

Every two seconds, one person dies from a surgically treatable disease. Mercy Ships deploys hospital ships to provide free surgeries. Since 1990, Mercy Ships has conducted 42 field services in 14 African countries, most of which are ranked by the United Nations Development Index as the least developed in the world. In addition to surgical care, Mercy Ships creates lasting impact by training local medical professionals and strengthening incountry healthcare systems.

Our ships

The Africa Mercy

The Global Mercy

From the Chief Executive Officer

What a truly momentous year it’s been so far for Mercy Ships.

In this our 45th anniversary year, I’ve been inspired to see how far we’ve come since we first began. It’s humbling to think how our founders Don and Deyon Stephens turned their dream of a floating hospital into a reality. In 1978, they sacrificed a life on land and moved their four children onboard our first ship, the Anastasis.

Since then, Mercy Ships has grown into a leading international health charity. We’ve faced many challenges along the way. But our love for people facing poverty across the world has remained as steadfast as an anchor in changing tides.

As our founder so eloquently said, “Mercy Ships has grown above my wildest dreams. What started as a vision with Deyon and me, now belongs to thousands of people.”

This founding vision grew once again this year, when we opened the doors to our newest hospital ship, the Global Mercy. Turn to page 6 to read about our first patient, four-year-old Amadou in Senegal.

Right now, our hospital ship is serving patients in Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in the world. Families here face unimaginable challenges. Please turn to page 10 to see what we hope to achieve in partnership with Sierra Leone over the coming months.

It was an honour to celebrate our organisation's anniversary in the presence of International Patron, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne. During a memorable evening event on the River Thames, The Princess Royal shared her deep admiration for the life-saving work of Mercy Ships. You can read more about this recent event on page 14.

As always, I'm so grateful for your unwavering support. Your kindness truly means so much to all of our patients and their families.

With deep gratitude,

Joanne Balaam Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Ships UK

A new era for Mercy Ships

The first surgery on the Global Mercy

In February, we celebrated a very special moment as our newest ship, the Global Mercy, opened the doors to her first patients.

After years of planning and partnership, the Global Mercy began serving patients in Senegal and The Gambia.

It all started with our first patient, four-year-old Amadou, who walked up the gangway of the hospital ship for healing.

Amadou had one windswept leg and one bowed leg. His caregiver knew he had problems when he first started walking. But it was not until years later that he had the chance of free surgery on our hospital ship.

After surgery, you could hear Amadou’s ripples of laughter echoing through the wards of our floating hospital. He raced down the children’s ward on toy cars, bursting with happiness.

Amadou can now walk on straight legs for the first time in his life. One day, he hopes to go to school.

So many lives restored

If it wasn’t for Mercy Ships, many children like Amadou would never have the chance of surgery. Many of our patients have struggled to walk, run, make friends and go to school because of their severe deformities, impacting not just their physical health but also their socialisation and mental wellbeing. In the UK, children are treated very early in life and so would never get to this stage. But in countries like Senegal, children like Amadou have had years of healthy life taken away from them.

Amadou's was the first of many lives changed this year during the Global Mercy’s service in Senegal. Thanks to the hospitality of the governments of Senegal and The Gambia, Mercy Ships was able to serve patients from two countries through just one port. This allowed even more people to access the free, safe surgical care they needed.

At a glance: our impact in Senegal and The Gambia

Our progress this year to bring safe surgical care and training for new healthcare professionals will make a lasting impact in Senegal, long after the Global Mercy has sailed away.

800 life-changing surgeries performed

600 healthcare professionals trained

1,184 volunteers onboard

59 nations represented by volunteers

272 crewmembers from Senegal

50 corporate partners

Images: (Opposite) Amadou, the first patient on board the Global Mercy with his caregiver Mariatou. (Top) Coumba can freely move her arms after surgery. Before now, she has been unable to use her left arm and hand for 27 years.

Leaving a lasting impact

Alongside providing direct medical services in the nations we partner with, we've also refocused our work this year on education, training and advocacy. This new pillar of work builds on the Dakar Declaration, which sets out a strategic roadmap to improve surgical care for African nations by 2030. Heads of state and representatives from 29 African nations signed up to the declaration in May 2022 onboard the Global Mercy

This new programme focus aims to increase the number of fully-trained healthcare providers, empower marginalised healthcare workers, and implement the recommendations of the Dakar Declaration in partnership with our host countries.

Bringing safe surgical care and surgical education so far this year has taken helping hands from across the world, including 1,184 volunteers from

59 nations and 272 national crewmembers working in 30 different areas. It also required support from more than 50 corporate partners and many national partners.

These combined efforts mean that Mercy Ships has been able to perform nearly 800 surgeries and train more than 600 healthcare professionals so far in 2023. These newly-equipped professionals will continue to strengthen Senegal’s surgical systems, long after the Global Mercy sails away.

Mercy Ships hopes to continue to develop the relationship with the Senegalese government in the years to come. We also plan to open an Africa Service Centre in Dakar which will serve as a base of operations for our work in Africa.

Images: (Top left) First Lady of Senegal, Marième Faye Sall, speaks with Mercy Ships founder Don Stephens during the Presidential Conversation regarding the Dakar Declaration. (Top right) A local student participating in the Dental PUMP programme while shadowing dentist, Vera Alstad. (Opposite) The Education, Training and Advocacy team with an information booth about their department during a Thank You Reception.

Outside of Senegal, Mercy Ships has been active in transforming lives further afield through our partnerships and programmes this year. In nations such as Togo, Guinea, and Benin, Mercy Ships continues to work with local partners and institutions to help provide vital medical care, from dental treatment to cataract surgeries and beyond.

On 20th June, the Global Mercy held one last celebration before leaving Senegal, welcoming partners from across Senegal and The Gambia to thank them for their support.

Africa Service Centre to be opened in Dakar, Senegal

7 countries

with active programmes

Reigniting hope in Sierra Leone

In August 2023, crowds cheered as the Global Mercy sailed into Freetown, Sierra Leone. An opening ceremony was celebrated by the country's president, Julius Maada Bio.

The arrival of our hospital ship was a beacon of hope and healing for so many who urgently need surgery.

Families here face unimaginable challenges. There are only five surgeons to treat a population of eight million people. Many are forced to wait years for medical care. The country has one of the highest maternal, newborn and child mortality rates in the world. People are still rebuilding healthcare services after the brutal civil war over 20 years ago. While direct surgical care is urgently needed for so many across the country, there’s an even greater need: for trained and equipped medical professionals who can bring about lasting change in access to safe surgery.

Onboard the Global Mercy, a world-class floating training centre and surgical ship, both needs will be addressed.

Despite the serious healthcare challenges, our decades of partnership have led to lasting changes in Sierra Leone’s surgical care systems. Thirty years after our partnership with this nation first began, we can see the significant impact of our collective actions.

During this current service in Sierra Leone, hope and healing will come anew to 1,900+ people through free, safe surgery onboard. Approximately 450 healthcare professionals will receive training to lift the country’s surgical systems.

Images: (Top) The Global Mercy arrives in Sierra Leone. President Julius Maada Bio is greeted by Sierra Leonean Mercy Ships volunteers.

Sierra Leone medical statistics:

5 surgeons

8 million people

1 out of 10 under 5 mortality rate

Our impact:

1,900+ people treated

450 healthcare professionals trained

Double the hope. Double the healing.

We’re thrilled that Mercy Ships will soon be able to bring double the hope and healing to nations across Africa.

Our older hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, is now in her final stages of a much-needed refit.

After 16 years of service, this vessel was in urgent need of renovation. Our volunteer crew have been working hard to rebuild the ship with modern operating theatres, medical equipment and the latest technology. We’re also repairing the ship’s tanks, replacing the steering gear units and

installing air disinfection units to stop the spread of infectious diseases.

Following her extensive refit, the Africa Mercy will sail to Madagascar in February 2024 and stay for 10 months. Our crew will provide over 1,000 free surgeries onboard, as well as offering training and education to many more local healthcare professionals.

We look forward to even more hope and healing ahead with our two-ship fleet.

Images: The Africa Mercy is undergoing a refit in Durban, South Africa.

45th anniversary dinner launches our new Volunteer Support Fund

On Tuesday 26th September, Mercy Ships welcomed special guests to a 45th anniversary dinner in the presence of our International Patron, Princess Anne. Highly-esteemed guests on the evening included members from Trusts and Foundations, leaders in the maritime industry, prospects, and alumni, who enjoyed meaningful conversations on global healthcare.

The dinner was to launch a new Volunteer Support Fund, to enable more volunteers from developing nations to consider giving their time to the lifesaving work of bringing surgical care to those who need it most.

We hope this fund will remove the financial burden and make the opportunity to volunteer more accessible to those from developing nations who desire to use their expertise and skills for Mercy Ships.

HRH The Princess Royal celebrated the work of the many volunteers who have played a vital role in enabling Mercy Ships to change lives over the past 45 years, and the opportunity the new fund will bring.

Mrs Rachel Buckingham, Consultant Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Oxford University Trust, also spoke at the anniversary dinner. She shared how she gives up her annual leave to volunteer on board and what a privilege and joy it is for her to see the lasting legacy left to both patients and the in-country volunteer professionals she mentors and trains.

Our Chief Executive, Joanne Balaam, said, “Her Royal Highness’ continuing support and recognition of all our volunteers’ efforts is more important than ever as we need more than 3,000 a year to volunteer on our twoship fleet.

“There are so many open-hearted professionals who would love to give their time and effort to serve with Mercy Ships, but sacrificing their income to do so can prove impossible for many volunteers, especially those from developing nations.

“We hope this will make a transformational difference to our patients and the legacy of Mercy Ships in subSaharan Africa.”

Read more about this very special event, and how you can support this new volunteer fund, at mercyships.org.uk/45th-anniversary-dinner

Images: (Top) HRH The Princess Royal speaking to Rachel Buckingham, who performed the first surgery onboard the Global Mercy and Fiona Thomson, widow of long-time volunteer Dr Keith Thomson. Guests celebrated the special dinner on the elegant vessel, the Elizabethan, on the River Thames.

How you can help

Donate

Help transform lives all year round with a regular donation.

Visit mercyships.org.uk

Nominate us

Nominate Mercy Ships as the Charity of the Year in your company, church or organisation.

Come along

Attend or hold your own event or form a fundraising group in your local community, church, club, or workplace.

Email events@mercyships.org.uk

Remember us

Leave a lasting gift of hope in your Will. Visit mercyships.org.uk/legacy

Get involved

Run, jog, walk, cycle, or swim for Mercy Ships by taking part in one of our challenge events.

Email getinvolved@mercyships.org.uk

Volunteer

Volunteer abroad or in the UK

Contact us at volunteering@mercyships.org.uk

The work of Mercy Ships is only possible thanks to your generosity.

Thank you so much for your support.

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mercyships.org.uk

01438 727800