Mercy Ships

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Mercy Ships logo
The Africa Mercy in the port of Pointe Noire, Congo

Mercy Ships is an international, Christian-motivated aid organization that has been operating hospital ships in developing countries since 1978 . Employees from over 40 countries volunteer on the hospital ships and pay for board and lodging themselves. They provide assistance in the form of operations, dental treatment, construction and agricultural projects, and training programs.

The operative help is geared towards special surgery . In particular, people with large facial tumors , malformations and disfigurements receive free operations on board from specialist surgeons from all over the world. The medical spectrum includes oral and maxillofacial surgery , orthopedics , plastic surgery , eye surgery and gynecology .

Mercy Ships was founded in 1978 by Don Stephens in Lausanne and was established in 1995 as a not-for-profit association under Swiss law. The headquarters are now in Lindale , Texas. Mercy Ships has 17 offices worldwide including headquarters.

The aid organization currently operates a ship with the Africa Mercy (since March 2007). Previously operated ships are the Anastasis (operated by Mercy Ships 1978 to 2007, formerly Victoria ), the Caribbean Mercy (1994 to 2006, formerly Polarys ) and the Island Mercy (1983 to 2001, formerly Petite Forte and Good Samaritan ). The usual planning rhythm is based on 10 months of work and 2 months off. In 2015/16 the ship was in Madagascar , from summer 2016 to June 2017 in Benin , and since August 2018 in Conakry , Guinea .

In 2014 the organization placed the order to build a new hospital ship with the working title Atlantic Mercy , the definitive name of the ship built in China is now MV Global Mercy, the launch was originally planned for February 2018.

Mercy Ships Germany e. V. has been based in Kaufbeuren since 1995 and in Landsberg am Lech since 2017 , is financed by donations from private individuals and companies and has been awarded the donation seal of the German Evangelical Alliance . The chairman of the board is Martin Dürrstein, head of Dürr Dental . Udo Kronester is the managing director in Germany. The managing director of Mercy Ships Switzerland for the two Swiss offices in Lausanne and (from 2015) Bern was René Lehmann from 2012.

Goals & working methods

The aim of the Mercy Ships organization is to sustainably improve health care in developing countries. It thus follows the UN goal 3 “Healthy Living for All” within the framework of the global goals for sustainable development (English: Sustainable Development Goals ). In addition to surgical care on the hospital ship, the extensive program also includes the relevant preparatory work and follow-up work in the country of assignment, further training for medical and non-medical specialists and programs to promote medical infrastructure and a healthy lifestyle.

On August 28, 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Mercy Ships signed a cooperation agreement in Dakar , the capital of Senegal . Commonly stated goals are to improve services in the field of surgery and anesthesia in Africa, to create access to surgical care and to develop the capacities of local medical professionals to strengthen the local care systems.

The intensive cooperation between Mercy Ships and the individual countries of assignment takes place in five phases as part of a 5-year deployment plan. The organization is therefore active in five countries at the same time.

Phase 1: Political preparatory work

  • Establishing contact and building relationships with the state government
  • Network building and cooperation with local ministries, authorities and NPOs
  • Signing of a headquarters agreement (accord de siège) in accordance with the objectives of the WHO and later of a period-based protocol for concrete cooperation.

Phase 2: Analysis of the needs and the patient situation

  • Public relations and campaigns to inform the local population in cooperation with local partners
  • Creation of the operational plan and planning of various patient screenings by medical teams
  • Analysis of local capacities, the security situation and organizational preparation

Phase 3: 10-month aid mission by the hospital ship

  • Examination and preparation of patients for operations and treatments on board
  • Free surgical operations and dental treatments
  • Further training of local specialists, etc. a. in the areas of anesthesia ,  surgery , ophthalmology , pain therapy , medical technology , sterile work and sterile goods processing, basic trauma care, palliative medicine , resuscitation of newborns and treatment of club feet using the plaster cast technique " Ponseti method "
  • Introduction of the WHO checklist for safe surgical procedures in local hospitals
  • Individual mentoring on board the ship by local surgeons, doctors, anesthetists and nurses
  • Renovation and equipping of local health facilities
  • Implementation of agricultural projects to improve the food and income situation.

Phase 4: Rework & further development of the projects

  • Accompaniment of the trained specialist staff and support with the implementation in everyday work as well as the transfer of knowledge to third parties
  • Support in the independent implementation and continuation of individual projects, as well as concrete support for partners, e.g. B. in the event of unforeseen problems
  • Review of the agreed use of donated materials
  • Evaluation of skills learned by local professionals

Phase 5: Evaluation & analysis of sustainability

  • Analysis and evaluation of the results from the projects with regard to the benefits and sustainability for patients, locally trained professionals and standards in local health facilities
  • Creation of an evaluation report with programmatic recommendations for future deployments and for submission to the national health ministry of the deployment country

history

Mercy Ships was founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens in Lausanne ( Switzerland ). Her vision, inspired by her Christian faith, was to bring medical aid to the poorest of the poor on hospital ships. At the beginning, Mercy Ships was part of the international aid organization " Youth with a Mission ". Mercy Ships has been an independent organization since 2003.

Fleet & countries of operation

M / S Anastasis - 1978 - 2007

The M / S Anastasis .

The first hospital ship, the decommissioned cruise ship M / S Victoria, was rebuilt and renovated for four years. In 1982 she left for her first mission with an international crew of 350. The founders Don and Deyon Stephens lived on the ship with their four children for over ten years. In total, she visited 275 ports and performed 66 missions in 23 countries: Guatemala , New Zealand , Fiji , Tonga , Samoa , Mexico , Jamaica , Dominican Republic , Poland , Togo , Ghana , Estonia , Ivory Coast , Guinea , Sierra Leone , Lithuania , Senegal , Latvia , South Africa , Madagascar , Benin , Gambia and Liberia .

M / S Caribbean Mercy - 1994-2006

In 1994 the former Norwegian coastal ferry Polarlys was acquired and renamed the M / S Caribbean Mercy. Until it was sold in 2006, it was mainly used in the Caribbean and Central America . The hospital ship offered space for a crew of 150. The Caribbean Mercy visited 137 ports and carried out 56 missions in 13 countries: Dominican Republic , Haiti , Nicaragua , Guatemala , El Salvador , Russia , Korea , China , the Philippines , Colombia , Puerto Rico , Honduras and Belize .

The Island Mercy .

M / V Island Mercy - 1983-1994

In 1983, the Petite Forte, a Newfoundland coastal ferry, was donated to Mercy Ships. As Good Samaritan, she was deployed for 11 years with a crew of 60 in the Caribbean as well as in Central and South America. In 1994 she was renamed Island Mercy and moved to the South Pacific , where she served until 2001. Due to its shallow draft, it could also call at ports that were not accessible to larger Mercy Ships ships. Countries of assignment were u. a .: Brazil , the Dominican Republic , Guyana and Haiti , Guinea-Bissau , Samoa , the Tokelau Islands and New Zealand .

M / S Africa Mercy - since 2000

The Africa Mercy , the largest hospital ship in the world, in the port of Blyth, May 2007.

In 2000 Mercy Ships acquired the 16,500 ton flagship M / S Africa Mercy, the disused Danish rail ferry M / S Dronning Ingrid . After the conversion work was completed in March 2007, the M / S Africa Mercy replaced the M / S Anastasis, which had been decommissioned for reasons of age . The M / S Africa Mercy is 152 meters long and 23 meters wide and is the largest private hospital ship in the world. In May 2007 the Africa Mercy sailed from an English shipyard for its first mission to the port of Monrovia ( Liberia ). The Africa Mercy only docks in ports in the sub-Saharan countries in order to operate in the countries with the greatest need for surgical care. According to a report in the medical journal “ The Lancet ” from 2015, around 5 billion people do not have access to safe, affordable surgical care, 91% of these people live in the sub-Sahara .

Application locations:

Between missions, the Africa Mercy is annually in the dry dock for maintenance in a shipyard. During this time, necessary repairs and upgrades are carried out before the next mission starts.

On the upper deck of the Africa Mercy there are 126 cabins with sleeping options for a crew of over 400, including families, couples and singles. There is also childcare on board, an elementary school and high school recognized according to the US education system, a library, a laundry, a small grocery store, a canteen and a donated Starbucks café. 28 vehicles are always on board the Africa Mercy for medical use on land.

M / V Global Mercy

In 2014 Mercy Ships placed the order to build a newly designed ship, the M / V Global Mercy, specially designed for the purpose of a hospital ship. This is currently under construction.

Medical fields of activity

The medical staff on board offers a range of specialized surgical operations and treatments. The spectrum includes the following areas:

The lower deck of the Africa Mercy is equipped with five operating theaters, a recovery and sick bay with a total of 82 beds, an intensive care unit, a computer tomograph , X-ray machine and laboratory .

Employees

The crew of the Africa Mercy consists of around 400 volunteers from various origins. The volunteers finance their stay from travel expenses through mandatory vaccinations to accommodation and meals themselves. In addition, more than 200 locals from the respective country of assignment are on board.

In addition to their functions in the medical field, many volunteers also work in the non-medical field, for example in administration, housekeeping , public relations, as teachers, on deck and in the engine room.

The respective country offices support the work of Africa Mercy in the area of public relations , fundraising , recruiting and the support of all volunteer employees.

financing

Over the years Mercy Ships has built a worldwide network of supporters, sponsors and partners. The work is 100% funded by donations in kind and money. The work on board the hospital ships is carried out by volunteer specialists. Mercy Ships works in close cooperation with the respective governments of the countries of operations, which Mercy Ships usually exempt from port costs.

The association Mercy Ships Deutschland eV has been awarded the donation certificate from the German Evangelical Alliance . An annual report provides information on the income and expenditure of the organization.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Focus: Man has had an eight-pound tumor on his neck for 30 years
  2. ^ M / S Africa Mercy. Retrieved June 3, 2019 .
  3. ^ M / S Caribbean Mercy. Retrieved June 3, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Sjukhus på de sju haven (Swedish), üs: Hospital on the Seven Seas. Göteborgs-Posten , March 14, 2014, accessed March 15, 2014 .
  5. ↑ a b DELTAMARIN DESIGNS WORLD'S LARGEST CIVILIAN HOSPITAL SHIP with reference to source Launched on TIANJIN XINGANG SHIPYARD LAUNCHES HOSPITAL SHIP GLOBAL MERCY , February 16, 2018
  6. ↑ Welcome to Landsberg. Retrieved August 16, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Donation gala achieves 60,000 euros for aid organization Mercy Ships , idea.de, message from July 11, 2018.
  8. ^ A huge flat share full of helpers , Berner Zeitung, November 20, 2015
  9. ↑ a b c Annual Report 2018. Mercy Ships Deutschland eV, accessed on June 26, 2019 .
  10. ↑ The Ship of Hope. Retrieved June 3, 2019 .
  11. ↑ fid: MS "Anastasis" on a flying visit to Bremen . September 5, 2001 ( welt.de [accessed June 3, 2019]).
  12. ↑ M / S Anastasis Fact Sheet Mercy Ships, accessed June 3, 2019.
  13. ↑ M / S Caribbean Mercy Fact Sheet, Mercy Ships, accessed June 3, 2019.
  14. ↑ Canadian National - MV Petite Forte - MERCY SHIPS MV Good Mamaritan / Island Mercy. Retrieved June 3, 2019 .
  15. ^ Island Mercy Fact Sheet , Mercy Ships, accessed June 3, 2019
  16. ↑ AFRICA MERCY, Hospital Vessel - details and current position - IMO 7803188 MMSI 248428000 - VesselFinder. Retrieved June 3, 2019 .
  17. ^ M / S Africa Mercy. Retrieved June 3, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Winnie Yip, Gavin Yamey, Iain H. Wilson, Thomas G. Weiser, David Watters: Global Surgery 2030: evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare, and economic development . In: The Lancet . tape 386 , no. 9993 , August 8, 2015, ISSN  0140-6736 , p. 569-624 , doi : 10.1016 / S0140-6736 (15) 60160-X , PMID 25924834 ( thelancet.com [accessed June 26, 2019]).
  19. ↑ Mercy Ships celebrates 100,000. surgical intervention on board the largest private hospital ship in the world. Accessed June 3, 2019 (German).
  20. ↑ M / S Africa Mercy Fact Sheet , Mercy Ships, accessed June 3, 2019.
  21. ↑ Work areas. Retrieved June 3, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Via Mercy Ships. Retrieved June 26, 2019 .
  23. ↑ Mercy Ships Deutschland eV Accessed June 26, 2019 (English).
  24. ↑ Mercy Ships Deutschland eV Accessed June 26, 2019 (English).
  25. ↑ What is the DEA donation verification certificate? Retrieved June 26, 2019 .
  26. ↑ Annual reports. Retrieved June 26, 2019 .