The world’s largest civilian hospital ship, Global Mercy, has arrived at the Port of Tema to begin a 10-month medical mission expected to provide up to 2,600 free surgeries and more than 2,000 dental treatments to Ghanaians.
The latest field service by Mercy Ships also aims to strengthen Ghana’s health system through the training and mentoring of between 100 and 250 local healthcare professionals, including clinical placements aboard the vessel.
The ship’s arrival marks the fifth Mercy Ships field service in Ghana and comes as the government seeks to expand access to safe and equitable surgical care under its National Surgical, Obstetric and Anaesthesia Plan (NSOAP), launched in 2024.
Speaking at a welcome ceremony in Tema on Friday, the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, said the mission should be viewed as a strategic partnership supporting Ghana’s own healthcare priorities rather than as a standalone humanitarian intervention.
“It is therefore important that we view the arrival of the Global Mercy not as a stand-alone intervention, but as a collaborative effort to support and accelerate Ghana’s own national priorities,” he said.
He said the real measure of the mission would be its lasting impact on patients, healthcare workers and institutions after the vessel leaves Ghana.
The minister also highlighted the HOPE Center, which provides pre- and post-operative support to patients while creating opportunities for Ghanaian health professionals to work alongside international medical volunteers.
Mercy Ships Chief Executive Officer, Dr Michelle White, said the return to Tema carried particular significance because the organisation’s first hospital ship, Anastasis, docked there more than three decades ago.
Since beginning operations in Ghana in 1991, Mercy Ships has trained nearly 3,000 Ghanaian healthcare professionals and supported more than 2,500 surgical procedures in the country.
Dr White said the organisation would work with the Ministry of Health, universities, the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Ghana College of Nursing and Midwifery to align the mission with national health priorities.
The partnership will also provide opportunities for postgraduate training aboard the Global Mercy.
The Minister for Transport, Joseph Bukari Nikpe, welcomed the vessel on behalf of the sector and pledged the support of Ghana’s port authorities throughout its stay.
He described Ghana’s ports as a gateway to the wider West African sub-region, serving landlocked countries including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Mercy Ships has undertaken 47 field services in 14 African countries since 1990 and delivered more than 128,800 surgical procedures worldwide.
The organisation says its work has increasingly shifted from direct humanitarian intervention towards long-term health-system strengthening through partnerships, professional education and locally led capacity building.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
