Mentoring
155 local professionals participated in our mentoring programs (illustrated in pie chart).
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- Hover over to see how many
patients’ lives were changed by surgery in each region!
Mercy Ships and Guinea
Mercy Ships first served Guinea in 1992 and has had a permanent presence on the ground since 2018, when the organization launched a long-term partnership with Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry (UGANC) dental school. The partnership has since expanded to include additional surgical specialty training, sponsoring international students, broadening the scope of training beyond Guinea, and creating a network that will improve dental care across Africa for years to come.
An exciting development in 2024 was the opening of a new clinical training center at UGNAC. The expansion was made possible through funding and oversight from Mercy Ships, and more than doubles the school’s previous capacity for dental students to learn, practice, and treat patients. The expansion increased capacity from six simulation stations to 30 stations, along with 22 dental chairs for patient care, as well as adding labs for practical training and dental prosthodontics. Additionally, surgeons who received mentoring from Mercy Ships have dramatically reduced the pervasive problem of cleft lips and palates across the nation over the past two decades.
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- Zoom in and click to see how many patients’ lives were changed by surgery in each region!
Mercy Ships and Guinea
Mercy Ships first served Guinea in 1992. Since then, Mercy Ships vessels have returned to the port of Conakry three more times, with the most recent being 2018-19 when more than 10,000 individual patients were direct beneficiaries. With targeted medical capacity building focused on cleft lip and palate repair procedures, surgeons that were mentored in Guinea have dramatically reduced this pervasive problem over the past two decades. Additionally, through a partnership with Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry, the next generation of dentists to serve Guinea is being trained in a renovated dentistry department, including a dental simulation room, training lab and clinical suite.
Guinea’s Sole Public Dental School Unveils Expanded Training Facility to Revolutionize Dental Care Across West Africa
CONAKRY, GUINEA 26th September 2024: Guinea’s only public dental school celebrated the grand opening of its state-of-the-art training facility yesterday, which more than doubles capacity for dental students to learn, practice and treat patients while addressing the critical gap in accessing dental care.
Guinea’s only dental school expanding in pioneering educational project to transform access to quality care
CONAKRY GUINEA – 6 November 2023 – The critical need to give the people of Guinea access to quality dental care is taking a major step forward with the expansion of the country’s only dental school.
Mercy Ships Partners with Hope Ignited to Launch Guinea’s First Pediatric Center of Excellence
In a brightly decorated hospital room in Dubréka, Guinea, baby Mory is being examined by a pediatric surgeon. The surgeon gives Mory’s anxious parents a big smile and a thumbs up – all is well. When the surgeon first saw Mory a few months ago, he was severely malnourished and dangerously underweight. Now, after regular treatment and several follow-up appointments, he’s reached a healthy weight and is being sent home, much to the relief of his parents.
Bridging the Gap of Anesthesia Care in Guinea
For Marthe Lamah, becoming an anesthetist was a life-long dream. “Since I was little, I always liked to help vulnerable people,” she says – and she believed patients receiving surgery in the operating room were among the most vulnerable of all. “I understood immediately that there is a specialty where you could take care of this type of vulnerable people with proper training in place.” Right now, Marthe is one of more than 20 students studying to become a nurse anesthetist in Guinea’s Gamal Abdel Nasser University. At the front of the classroom is Professor Joseph Donamou, the catalyst behind the program.
Partnerships for Long-Term Impact
In 2018, Mercy Ships began a long-term partnership with the Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry (UGANC). Mercy Ships supported the renovation and equipping of the dentistry department, building a dental simulation room, training lab, and clinical suite. UGANC has successfully seen a total of over 100 students graduate, and more than five dental students have completed an 18-month clinical internship.
In 2022, Mercy Ships began an education investment program and is now sponsoring nine dental students to receive specialized degrees at a partner university in Morocco. They plan to return to UGANC to become teachers and leaders, passing on their education to the next generation of dentists in Guinea.
Mercy Ships is further supporting two dental school graduates as they open their own clinics in rural areas of Guinea, and partnering with NGO Hope Ignited to open the first pediatric center in the country.
The partnership with the UGANC opened doors for Mercy Ships to support other programs at the university, including biomedical technician and nurse anesthesia training. Today, the Gamal Anesthesia Training Center has an annual class of 20 students and plans to start a specialty anesthesia program for doctors in 2026. Mercy Ships has also sponsored several medical doctors in Guinea to receive training in anesthesia, with the goal of doubling the number of anesthesia specialists in the country.
Dental Partner Unit Mentoring Program (PUMP)
Mercy Ships largest dental project to date took place in Conakry, in partnership with Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry. The Dental Project and the Dental PUMP training project were fully integrated this field service, even piloting a new initiative – fabricating high quality dentures.
Renovations and equipping allow the school to have an eight-chair student dental clinic, a three-chair student faculty dental clinic, a dental simulation lab, administrative offices for the dental school, and a dental laboratory.
Mercy Ships also provided the necessary dental equipment and the biomedical training for eight local people to expertly maintain and repair the equipment.
Mentoring was provided for 13 dentists and dental school staff and a total of 71 dental students.
Mercy Ships leaves the sustainable impact of a fully functioning clinic for integration into the dental college curriculum.
Partnership for Health
Partnership for Health
Mercy Ships is committed to bringing hope and healing by offering free specialized surgeries and medical training. In Guinea, this important work would not have been possible without our dedicated volunteer crew and the local Day Crew who joined us to serve their nation with tireless devotion.
The Africa Mercy arrived in the Port of Conakry on 11 August 2018 for our fourth mission to Guinea. During the ten-month field service, Mercy Ships offered direct medical serves and medical capacity building programs, with support of the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene and other local partners. Services not only benefited thousands of individuals directly, but will also boost national healthcare development and the entire nation.
Mercy Ships is committed to bringing hope and healing by offering free specialized surgeries and medical training. In Guinea, this important work would not have been possible without our dedicated volunteer crew and the local Day Crew who joined us to serve their nation with tireless devotion.
The Africa Mercy arrived in the Port of Conakry on 11 August 2018 for our fourth mission to Guinea. During the ten-month field service, Mercy Ships offered direct medical serves and medical capacity building programs, with support of the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene and other local partners. Services not only benefited thousands of individuals directly, but will also boost national healthcare development and the entire nation.
Who We Are
Founded in 1978, Mercy Ships is a global faith-based charity that uses hospital ships and volunteer professionals to deliver free specialized surgical care and medical training to build the local healthcare systems with our host nations, focusing in Africa.
Medical Training
Mercy Ships offers education and training projects to help strengthen the standards of surgical care in communities of the countries we serve, leaving a lasting impact. Specialized training is provided to local healthcare professionals in techniques and procedures appropriate to their environment.
How We Help
Mercy Ships comes alongside our host nation with volunteer professionals to address the immediate surgical needs of a nation, simultaneously training local healthcare workers, and collaboratively building healthcare infrastructure. This approach empowers our host’s sustainable progress and continued development.
Who We Are
Founded in 1978, Mercy Ships is a global faith-based charity that uses hospital ships and volunteer professionals to deliver free specialized surgical care and medical training to build the local healthcare systems with our host nations, focusing in Africa.
Medical Training
Mercy Ships offers education and training projects to help strengthen the standards of surgical care in communities of the countries we serve, leaving a lasting impact. Specialized training is provided to local healthcare professionals in techniques and procedures appropriate to their environment.
How We Help
Mercy Ships comes alongside our host nation with volunteer professionals to address the immediate surgical needs of a nation, simultaneously training local healthcare workers, and collaboratively building healthcare infrastructure. This approach empowers our host’s sustainable progress and continued development.
Ask Us Anything
We are excited to share our story with you. We believe that a successful collaboration is based on mutual trust. By being transparent with local media and organizations and inviting them to learn more about our mission, we hope to build strong partnerships that will help us achieve our goals.
For this purpose, we have selected for you the most important facts and figures about Mercy Ships.
If you have any questions, please contact us using this form. Our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Get in Touch
Please be aware, we’re not taking any referrals through this form. Referrals through messages or email will not be received. Any other message we will try to respond to ASAP.
Ask Us Anything
We are excited to share our story with you! We believe that successful collaboration is based on mutual trust. By being transparent and inviting local media and other organizations to learn more about our mission, we hope to build strong partnerships that help us achieve our goals.
For this purpose, we have selected for you the most important facts and figures about Mercy Ships.
If you have any questions, please contact us using the form on this page. Our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
Get in Touch
Please be aware, we’re not taking any referrals through this form. Referrals through messages or email will not be received. Any other message we will try to respond to ASAP.