Mercy Ships in Benin
When Expertise Is Shared, Its Impact Keeps Growing
For patients in Benin, five Mercy Ships field services have brought access to specialized surgical care that might otherwise have been out of reach. For Beninese healthcare professionals, opportunities to strengthen expertise have created an impact that continues today, as former participants care for patients, teach colleagues and train the next generation.
Impact in Benin
Behind Every Number Is a Story
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38,430+ medical beneficiaries
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14,910+ life-changing surgical procedures
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42,840+ dental procedures
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11,070+ professionals trained in their area of expertise
Behind the Impact Are People
Every number represents a person, a family and a future that can look different.
One Surgery. A New Possibility.
For someone living with a treatable condition, the hardest part can be knowing that surgery exists but still being unable to reach it. Across five field services in Benin, thousands of people received specialized surgical care aboard Mercy Ships hospital ships. Behind each procedure was a person hoping to return to everyday life with new possibilities.
From Learning to Leading: Meet Dr Odry Agbessi
Dr Odry Agbessi wanted people in Benin to have greater access to reconstructive surgery without having to leave their country. After training with Mercy Ships, she became Benin's first reconstructive plastic surgeon in 2015. But her story didn't stop with what she learned. She began sharing that expertise with colleagues, teaching surgical skills and helping other healthcare professionals strengthen their practice. Years later, Dr Agbessi returned to Mercy Ships not as a trainee, but as an instructor, teaching alongside another Beninese surgeon, Dr Romeo Haoudou. She also works in a teaching hospital in Benin and runs the Beninese NGO VIA-ME.
I had the opportunity to be trained, and I was able to share this knowledge with my colleagues back home.
Five Field Services. One Continuing Partnership.
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1997–1998
Anastasis™ | Cotonou The first Mercy Ships field service in Benin begins a relationship that will continue for decades.
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2000–2001
Anastasis™ | Cotonou Mercy Ships returns, combining care with education and training.
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2004–2005
Anastasis™ | Cotonou A third field service continues surgery, healthcare activities and professional development.
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2009
Africa Mercy® | Cotonou The Africa Mercy® serves Benin for the first time, providing surgery while expanding healthcare training and other capacity-building programs.
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2016–2017
Africa Mercy® | Cotonou Mercy Ships returns for its fifth field service. During ten months, 1,957 surgeries are performed and 1,962 healthcare professionals are trained or mentored.
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2017–Today
The Partnership Continues Training, education and other initiatives have continued beyond the ship's departure. In 2024, Mercy Ships was still supporting Beninese students and healthcare education through regional partnerships.
What Continues After the Ship Sails?
From Trainee to Trainer
When the Africa Mercy® left Cotonou in 2017, the learning did not leave with it.
Dr Odry Agbessi had already become Benin's first reconstructive plastic surgeon after receiving training with Mercy Ships. She went on to teach other healthcare professionals in Benin and later returned to Mercy Ships as an instructor herself. Dr Romeo Haoudou, who had learned from Dr Agbessi, also became an instructor.
And the Partnership is still continuing
This makes Benin particularly interesting: the story didn't finish in 2017.
In 2024, Mercy Ships was still supporting healthcare education connected with Benin. Through collaboration involving Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry (UGANC) and the University of Abomey-Calavi's Faculty of Health Sciences, Beninese students were selected for clinical and simulation internships in Guinea and dental specialization training in Morocco.
One of them, Beninese dentist Ruth Catraye, plans to return home after specialization with the ambition of helping rebuild dental education in Benin and supporting future dental surgeons.
Help the Impact Reach Further
For someone waiting for surgery, your support can help make care possible today. For a healthcare professional strengthening their expertise, that same impact can continue with the next patient, the next colleague and the next generation.
