Mercy Ships in Senegal
Where One Opportunity Can Open the Way for Many More
For someone waiting for surgery in Senegal, access to the right care can change what comes next. Through years of partnership, patients have received free specialized surgery while Senegalese healthcare professionals have strengthened expertise that can continue reaching people long after a hospital ship leaves Dakar.
Impact in Senegal
Behind Every Number Is a Story
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16,150+ medical beneficiaries
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5,260+ life-changing surgical procedures
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18,060+ dental procedures
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5,050+ 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.
From Years of Searching to a New Future: Meet Daouda
Daouda was four when a tumour began growing in his upper jaw. For eight years, his father searched hospitals across Dakar for treatment, but the answer remained the same: they could not help him. As the tumour grew, eating and speaking became difficult and Daouda eventually had to leave school. Then his family heard that a hospital ship was coming to Senegal. Aboard the Global Mercy™, Daouda finally received the surgery he had been waiting for. After eight years of searching for care, surgery gave Daouda the possibility to look forward again.
Building Specialist Care Closer to Home: Meet Dr. Mohamed Sabounji
Dr. Mohamed Sabounji saw children in Senegal waiting for orthopedic care that was not available locally. He decided he wanted to help change that. Through mentoring with Mercy Ships, Dr. Sabounji strengthened his expertise in pediatric orthopedics, including treatment for clubfoot and corrective surgery. Even after the Africa Mercy® left Senegal unexpectedly in 2020, he continued treating children through his clinic. Mercy Ships reported that the clinic was treating more than 50 clubfoot cases a year. When the ship returned, his mentorship continued. By the end of the 2023 field service, Mercy Ships described him as progressing toward becoming Senegal's first pediatric orthopedic surgeon, bringing specialist care closer to future patients like Amadou.
I feel I have become a better surgeon.
A Partnership Through the Years
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2019–2020
Africa Mercy® | Dakar Patients received specialized surgery while Senegalese healthcare professionals participated in training and mentoring. The field service ended earlier than planned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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2022
Africa Mercy® + Global Mercy™ | Dakar The Africa Mercy® returned to continue surgical care. The new Global Mercy™ made its first visit to Africa, initially serving as a training platform. More than 260 Senegalese healthcare professionals participated in courses including surgical skills, SAFE anaesthesia and nursing skills. Dakar also became the setting for the development of the Dakar Declaration, bringing African nations together around a roadmap for safer surgery through 2030.
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2023
Global Mercy™ | Dakar Senegal hosted the Global Mercy™'s first surgical field service. Nearly 800 surgeries were performed across Senegalese and Gambian patients, while around 600 healthcare professionals from the two countries received training. The 2023 annual report specifies 657 Senegalese surgical patients and 518 Senegalese healthcare training participants.
What Continues After the Ship Sails?
Specialist Care That Stays Closer to Home
For Dr. Sabounji, learning aboard a hospital ship was not the end of the story.
When the Africa Mercy® left Senegal in 2020, he continued the clubfoot clinic and used his strengthened expertise to treat children locally. When Mercy Ships returned in 2022, he resumed his mentorship and expanded his experience in corrective procedures.
That is what long-term impact can look like: expertise strengthened through partnership, carried into a Senegalese hospital and used with the next patient.
The ship can leave. The specialist can still be there when the next child needs care.
I think this is the strongest concluding line for Senegal. It is concrete rather than making a broad claim about “strengthening healthcare systems.”
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.
