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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 has had a permanent presence on the ground in Guinea since 2018. Long-term Mercy Ships volunteers work closely with officials, educators, and healthcare providers to help strengthen the nation’s surgical and anesthetic systems. Through a longstanding partnership with Gamal Abdel Nasser University in Conakry, Mercy Ships is working to expand the number of dentists, anesthesia providers, and biomedical technicians in the country. Additionally, surgeons who received Mercy Ships mentoring in Guinea have dramatically reduced the pervasive problem of cleft lips and palates across the nation over the past two decades.

Mercy Ships first served Guinea in 1992. Since then, Mercy Ships vessels have returned to the Port of Conakry three more times. The most recent field service in 2018-2019 impacted more than 10,000 individual patients.

Guinea’s only dental school expanding in pioneering educational project to transform access to quality care

Press Release

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.

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Mercy Ships Partners with Hope Ignited to Launch Guinea’s First Pediatric Center of Excellence

Blog

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.

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Bridging the Gap of Anesthesia Care in Guinea

Blog

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.

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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.

1,254

Professionals trained

41,000

Dental procedures

2,442

Surgeries

Partnerships for Long-Term Impact

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In 2018, Mercy Ships began a long-term partnership with the Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry (UGANC) dental school. Mercy Ships supported the renovation and equipping of the dentistry department, building a dental simulation room, training lab, and clinical suite. Gamal Dental School 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 dental school 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.

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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.

  • Mentoring

    155 local professionals participated in our mentoring programs (illustrated in pie chart).

  • Training

    1,099 people participated in our various courses to further their skills in their area of expertise (illustrated in graph).

  • Lasting Impact

    Mercy Ships has developed practical and relevant capacity-building projects that demonstrate and impart knowledge, skills, and a compassionate, professional attitude to each participant.

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.

Learn More

Medical Training

Mercy Ships offers free training designed to empower healthcare workers and strengthen local healthcare systems. Instruction is specific to the unique needs of our host nation and planned in collaboration with the National Ministry of Health.

Learn More

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.

Learn More

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.

Learn More

Medical Training

Mercy Ships offers free training designed to empower healthcare workers and strengthen local healthcare systems. Instruction is specific to the unique needs of our host nation and planned in collaboration with the National Ministry of Health.

Learn More

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.

Learn More

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.

Download our Press Pack

 Get in Touch

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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 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.

Download our Press Pack

 Get in Touch

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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.

About us
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Africa Bureau

11 Rue 12.225,
Les Cocotiers-la Haie Vive
04 B.P 1398 Cotonou, BÉNIN

Africa Bureau

11 Rue 12.225,
Les Cocotiers-la Haie Vive
04 B.P 1398 Cotonou, BÉNIN
Tel: +229 62 38 79 79
africa@mercyships.org

© 2023 – Mercy Ships

Terms and conditions

About us
Contact Us
News
Press
Videos

Africa Bureau

11 Rue 12.225,
Les Cocotiers-la Haie Vive
04 B.P 1398 Cotonou, BÉNIN

Africa Bureau

11 Rue 12.225,
Les Cocotiers-la Haie Vive
04 B.P 1398 Cotonou, BÉNIN
Tel: +229 62 38 79 79
africa@mercyships.org

© 2023 – Mercy Ships

Terms and conditions