Bringing Hope and Healing

Mercy Ships brings transformational health care, relief aid and community support to some of the most impoverished people on earth, meeting their immediate and long-term needs.

Our multi-national volunteers and staff on our hospital ships and in our field locations and national offices work to meet the immediate and long-term needs of individuals and communities, bringing strength and self-sustaining capacity to developing nations. Mercy Ships freely serves the poor without regard to race, gender or religion.

In addition to the thousands of free specialized surgeries offered onboard the ships, community development projects take place in the surrounding villages in collaboration with local partners. These sustainable programs target areas of health, education, water and agriculture. 

Since 1978, Mercy Ships has provided services in developing nations valued at more than $808 million, including the following:

• Performed more than 47,000 life-changing and life-saving operations such as cleft lip/palate repairs. cataract removals and lens implants, orthopaedic procedures, facial reconstructions and obstetric fistula repairs.

• Treated over 422,210 patients in village clinics with more than 456,400 medical procedures performed.

• Treated over 95,800 dental patients with more than 206,000 dental procedures performed.

• Completed over 1,058 community development projects focusing on water and sanitation, education, infrastructure development and agriculture.

• Trained over 15,300 local health-care professionals who have in turn trained many others.

• Taught 125,800 local people in basic health care.

• Established a women and children’s health centre in West Africa which has performed more than 1,558 obstetric surgeries and some 28,900 paediatric outpatient consultations.