The world's largest civilian hospital ship, the M/V Global Mercy™, operated by the international NGO Ships of Hope, set sail from the Port of Granadilla in Tenerife, bound for Dakar, Senegal. From there, it will serve Senegal and Gambia. Thanks to its state-of-the-art medical facilities, this hospital ship will be able to perform specialized surgeries for the first time, as well as conduct training programs for local healthcare personnel. This latest visit to Africa is a testament to the close collaboration with the Ministries of Health of Senegal and Gambia.
“We are grateful to the Port of Granadilla for hosting us during the last few months of preparation for this moment. Tenerife has been our home port since 1991, and once again, Tenerife businesses have contributed their services and expertise to complete the outfitting of the world’s largest civilian hospital ship, as well as to carry out the maintenance and equipment upgrades on our hospital ship, the Africa Mercy®,” stated Gerardo Vangioni, President of Ships of Hope in Spain. “Over the next five months, until June 2023, more than 800 maxillofacial, pediatric, general, orthopedic, and ophthalmological surgeries will be performed, 25% of which will be for patients from our neighboring country, Gambia,” Vangioni added.
“After many years of planning and preparation, we are delighted that once again Senegal is the first destination of the hospital ship Global Mercy™, which officially begins serving the people and transforming the lives of patients, their families and their communities,” says Mariame SY, Senegal's ambassador to Spain.
The hospital ship, the Global Mercy™, is 174 meters long, 28.6 meters wide, and has a capacity for 200 patients. It features six operating theaters, a laboratory, a day hospital, and dental and ophthalmological clinics. The two hospital decks cover a total area of 7,000 square meters and are equipped with state-of-the-art training facilities. When fully operational, the ship will be able to accommodate up to 950 people while docked, including crew members and volunteers from around the world, and will operate in conjunction with the hospital ship, the M/V Africa Mercy®, which has been in service since 2007.
Over the next 50 years of Global Mercy™, it is expected that more than 150,000 lives will be transformed through surgery, with each transformation representing a person with a name, a face, a story, a family, and a purpose. Thousands of African medical professionals will receive training and mentorship to amplify the impact in their own communities.
