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Mercy Ships medical mission in Ghana

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2026-10-03 15:11 UTC → 2026-10-03 16:29 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Global Mercy, the world’s largest purpose-built civilian hospital ship, is currently docked at the Port of Tema for a 10-month medical mission in Ghana. Operated by the charity Mercy Ships, this initiative marks the organization’s fifth field service in the country and is expected to continue until June 2027. In a visit to the vessel, President John Dramani Mahama instructed government agencies to collaborate with Mercy Ships to ensure the “seamless delivery of free specialist surgical services.” The President emphasized that the mission should leave a “lasting impact on Ghana’s healthcare system through capacity building,” calling for strengthened collaboration between international medical teams and local professionals to ensure continuous training and effective post-operative care. The mission aims to provide specialized surgical and dental treatments, targeting between 1,900 and 2,600 surgeries and 1,600 to 2,145 dental procedures. Available services include cleft lip and palate repair, tumor removal, cataract surgery, reconstructive plastic surgery, obstetric fistula repair, and pediatric orthopedic surgery. This collaboration supports Ghana’s National Surgical, Obstetric and Anaesthesia Plan and addresses critical shortages in the nation’s medical sector. Beyond clinical care, the mission focuses on strengthening national healthcare infrastructure by providing medical education and clinical placements for approximately 100 to 250 local healthcare professionals. President Mahama has continued to promote the humanitarian impact of the Global Mercy while advocating for broader healthcare transformations. ~~This includes~~ Speaking at the ~~introduction~~ Alamein Africa Forum, he urged African leaders to treat healthcare as a “high-growth economic investment” rather than a budgetary expense, noting that the continent imports over 70 percent of its pharmaceuticals and nearly 99 percent of its vaccines. To combat this, he unveiled the Health Investment and National Gateway Enabler (HINGE) platform, a digital tool ~~intended~~ designed to streamline drug approval and ~~encourage local manufacturing of medicines and vaccines~~ investment processes across Africa. ~~Domestically, the administration is also working to expand free primary healthcare and strengthen the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).~~

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