Aboard the Africa Mercy
The world’s largest charity hospital ship serves those who are among the continent’s poorest.
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| The world’s largest charity hospital ship, the Africa Mercy has six operating rooms and a 78-bed hospital. (Photo from Mercy Ships) |
Last summer, Dr. Peter Meade traveled to the West African country of Sierra Leone, one of the continent’s poorest, for a two-week stint performing operations aboard the hospital ship Africa Mercy.
With six operating rooms and a 78-bed hospital for post-operative recovery, the 499 foot-long Africa Mercy is the world's largest charity hospital ship.
"I heard about this for many years and I've always wanted to go. Within the last year I decided to pursue it," says Mead, an assistant professor of clinical surgery. "The ship serves people at ports along the coast of West Africa, wherever they determine the need is great."
And the need is always greater than the capacity the ship has for treatment. "I did 32 cases during my eight operating-room days, about four a day," says Mead. "There is a tremendous backlog of people who need these procedures."
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