Mercy Ships provides:

• Maxillofacial surgery: Head and neck tumors, cleft lip, cleft palate, ear-nose-throat diseases
• Pediatric Orthopedic surgery: Club feet, bowed legs, windswept legs, knocked knees
• Reconstructive Plastic surgery: Severe wound scars, benign tumors, chronic ulcers, burn contractures
• Women’s health: Vesicovaginal and rectovaginal fistulas, prolapse
• General surgery: Hernias, goiters, other issues correctible by surgery
  • Pediatric specialized general surgery
• Eye surgery: Cataracts, pterygium, and strabismus

Learn more about Mercy Ships medical programs here.

Thank you for your interest in Mercy Ships. Please note that we are not accepting any new referrals from patients at this time. Please stay tuned on mercyships.africa to find out when the patient selection will reopen.

Mercy Ships is invited by and works together with governments in Africa to serve their people. Our new ship, the Global Mercy will be in Dakar, Senegal, serving patients from both Senegal and The Gambia from mid-February to the fall, when she will be moving to Sierra Leone. The Africa Mercy will be undergoing refit for most of 2023.

The best way to find out which countries Mercy Ships will serve next is by staying tuned on mercyships.africa.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering! Mercy Ships needs volunteer medical professionals, maritime officers and engineers, teachers, administrators, I.T. specialists, accountants, communication professionals, and so much more. Find your place on board! Together, we can bring hope and healing. View open volunteer opportunities with Mercy Ships.

Please note that all volunteers pay for their transportation to and from the ship’s location as well as monthly crew fees, insurance, and all personal expenses. Crew fees vary depending on the length of commitment as well as the volunteer’s country of residence. Volunteers who do not live or have citizenship in countries considered high-income by the World Bank pay lower crew fees.

Click here to see a sample budget, and learn more about crew fees here.

It’s important that volunteers pay their own expenses on board, so that Mercy Ships can maximize the impact of donations by putting 75% directly into programmatic expenses, like the cost of surgery for a patient who needs it.

Mercy Ships is excited to offer financial aid to crew with commitments of 24+ months and for any crew in qualifying maritime roles. Contact a recruiter for more information, and learn more about volunteering here.

Mercy Ships also has a financial support team to answer questions and support volunteers through budgeting, crew fees, and fundraising. If you have any questions as you think through volunteering, or if you’ve already applied – the Financial Support team is available to assist you. Send them an email or check out their fundraising brochure here.

When the ship is in port, Mercy Ships also engages local volunteers from the host nation to help with various roles, including translation, driving, cooking, and cleaning. Recruitment for these “national crew” positions happens locally in the three to four months before the ship arrives. For more information about when a ship may be visiting your country, stay tuned on mercyships.africa.