Senegal’s President Macky Sall has inaugurated the Global Mercy, the world’s largest purpose-built hospital ship, to boost access to surgical, obstetric and anaesthetic care for the nations of Africa as reported by Healthcare Africa.
Hospital ship
Senegal’s President Macky Sall has inaugurated the Global Mercy, the world’s largest purpose-built hospital ship, to boost access to surgical, obstetric and anaesthetic care for the nations of Africa.
Global Mercy is the latest floating medical treatment facility belonging to the international humanitarian organization Mercy Ships which seeks to leave the host nation better equipped with the training, tools and infrastructure to care for their own.
It was commissioned at the port of Dakar in Senegal to expand the organization’s life-changing operations and provide medical training to local caregivers.
The new hospital ship has space for 200 patients, six operating rooms, one laboratory, general outpatient clinics, a dental clinic and an eye clinic along with the latest training facilities.
It will be able to accommodate up to 950 people when docked including crew members and volunteers.
Improving access to surgery
The international symposium in Senegal created a great opportunity for Mercy Ships and its partners in Africa to come together in a strategic effort to improve access to safer surgery across the continent through a series of milestone events.
“Symposium members shared knowledge of their countries’ surgical care situations, addressed gaps and challenges in their national surgical, obstetric and anaesthetic plans and developed new strategies for implementation and capacity building,” Mercy Ships said in a statement.
Following the International Symposium, African Heads of state adopted the Dakar Declaration when aboard the Global Mercy which is a strategic road map to improve surgical care for African nations by 2030 where an estimated 93% of sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to safe surgery.
The Dakar Declaration
The Dakar Declaration is a historic agreement following foundational discussions from the health event where experts and ministers of health from 29 African nations met to put forward their commitment to advancing access to surgical, obstetric and anaesthetic care.
The present honourable delegates who gathered on board the Global Mercy to approve the strategic road map include representatives from Cameroon, the Union of Comoros, Congo Brazzaville, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal.
“We have adopted the Dakar Declaration which is the result of the meticulous work of our ministers and experts on access to surgical, obstetric and anaesthetic care.
As President in Office for the African Union, I commit to bringing the declaration to the summit of heads of state and African governments,” added Sall.
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Source: Healthcare Africa
