NEW ARRIVAL: Top – Several members of the advance team of Mercy Ships welcomg the Africa Mercy to the port of Cotonou, Benin; Bottom – Benin native Emmanuel Essah, biomedical technician, hands over the Benin flag to Madame Claudine Gbenagnon Talon, first lady of the Republic of Benin, on behalf of Mercy Ships. PICTURES: © Mercy Ships/Timmy Baskerville/Katie Keegan-Callow
The hospital ship African Mercy has docked in the port city of Cotonou in the West African nation of Benin where the crew of more than 400 volunteers will spend the next 10 months providing health care services.
The ship, which is operated by Christian medical organisation Mercy Ships, sailed from Madagascar where it spent the past two years. The world’s largest hospital ship, it has previously visited Benin – one of the world’s least developed nations with only six doctors for every 10,000 people – five times, most recently in 2009.
It volunteer staff, who come from more than 40 nations, will provide a range of surgical services and heathcare education to locals in collaboration with the Government of Benin, all free of cost. They anticipate performing more than 1,700 surgeries on adult and paediatric patients and treating more than 8,000 more at a land-based clinic during their stay in the nation.
The treatments will include the removal of life-threatening tumours, cleft lip and palate repairs, plastic reconstruction for severe burn-related injuries, hernia repairs, removal of cataracts, the correction of orthopaedic deformities on children, obstetric fistula repair and dental care.
Madame Claudine Gbenagnon Talon, the first lady of the Republic of Benin, welcomed the crew at a ceremony. “Behind all statistics, there is a story, a life, a person who needs a new hope, a treatment, or a cure. I wish that this enriching collaboration of Benin with Mercy Ships will continue to grow year after year for the well-being of the population.”
Australians on board the vessel include the captain, its operations director and the principal of the on-board school.
Alan Burrell, managing director of Mercy Ships Australia, said the organisation was pleased to offer free health care services to the Beninese. “We are working hard to make this care widely available to people in even the most remote regions,” he said. “Patient screening teams will be accessing patients in eight cities nationwide.”
