It was inaugurated on Monday May 30 by Senegalese President Macky Sall and his counterparts from Guinea-Bissau and the Comoros. The boat of the Christian NGO Mercy Ships will provide surgical care to poor populations.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Charlotte Idrac
It is a gigantic floating hospital 174 meters long, 28 meters wide, 12 floors, six operating theaters. It comes to reinforce the capacities of the ship Africa Mercyalso docked in Dakar and intended to travel to the ports of the countries of the continent that so wish.
“ We focus on the removal of tumours, maxillofacial surgery, or even orthopedic surgery for children, with club feet for example. With the two boats, we can treat 5,000 patients a year says Nathan Claus, director of clinical services at Mercy Ships.
Planned for a long time, the arrival of the Global Mercy follows the drama at Tivaouane hospital, the death of eleven babies in a fire last Wednesday. ” It’s hard to get a positive message when you’re in the middle of three days of mourning says Bryce Wagner, Executive Director of Mercy Ships Global.
During the inauguration, the Heads of State signed the so-called Dakar Declaration, ” with the same message which is how we can improve health systems and surgical systems in Africa. And we are honored to be part of these projects “.
the Global Mercy will begin training for health personnel for a month, before returning in early 2023 to start surgical operations.