SAILING HOSPITAL IN TENERIFE

Sailing Hospital in Tenerife – The Global Mercy, the world’s largest hospital ship, which provides free healthcare, left Senegal earlier and has arrived in the port of Granadilla for operations.

This is not the first time the largest of the Mercy Ships has docked in the port of Granadilla.

The sailing infirmary was also present in Tenerife in 2007. Its sister ship Africa Mercy came to Tenerife for a medical and maritime update in 2022. And earlier during the corona pandemic, the two ships and their crews lay fraternally side by side waiting for better world health to provide medical assistance to needy Africans themselves.

Aid and training

Tenerife is not only a gateway in the Atlantic for refugees risking their lives in search of a better future, it is also a place that exports hope to several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, such as Senegal, Gambia and Sierra Leone. In any case, it is the logistical base and ultimate resting place for those who will soon improve the living conditions of thousands of people by providing medical and surgical care, or indirectly, by training professionals from these countries.

The Global Mercy, the largest civilian hospital ship in the world, is docked because of maintenance and resupply work. The ship is owned by the NGO Mercy Ships, which was founded in 1978 and has used Tenerife as its base port for maintenance and supplies since 1991. Before docking in the port of Granadilla, the ship spent five months in Dakar where it provided free medical services to 800 people, both Senegalese and Gambians. It also retrained over 600 medics.

Home port Granadilla

Dozens of companies will work to keep the ship ready to sail and carry out the necessary maintenance and modification works. The time to carry out the works is estimated at one month. After that, the ship will sail to Freetown in Sierra Leone for 10 months.

Mercy Ships is grateful because they have been allowed to provide Tenerife as a home port for the hospital ships since 1991. They always look forward to the time of annual maintenance, the rest period for the medical, technical and maritime staff, while another humanitarian mission is being prepared.

Humanitarian missions

Thanks to the hospitality of the Senegalese and Gambian governments, ‘Ships of Hope’ was able to help patients from two countries through one port during its latest African visit. This is a historic first for the NGO, giving more people access to the safe and free surgical care they need. This is crucial as Ships of Hope’s main focus is sub-Saharan Africa, where 9 out of 10 people currently lack access to safe surgery.

This humanitarian mission marked the organisation’s third consecutive visit with a hospital ship to Senegal. Since 2019, 2,966 operations on 2,707 patients could be performed on the ships Africa Mercy and Global Mercy, despite a pause due to the Covid 19 pandemic. This required 1,184 volunteers coming from 59 countries. It also required the support of more than 50 international corporate partners, including numerous Senegalese companies.

The hospital ship, the Global Mercy, is 174 metres long, 28.6 metres wide and can accommodate 200 patients. It has six operating theatres, a laboratory, a day hospital and dental and ophthalmic disciplines on board. The hospital’s two decks cover an area of 7,000 square metres.