Rotary and Mercy Ships Partner to Deliver Vital Medical Care to West Africa
A new strategic partnership between Rotary International and the global charity Mercy Ships will improve the delivery of vital health care services throughout West Africa.
Through the partnership, The Rotary Foundation, Rotary’s charitable arm, will provide grants to Rotary clubs and districts to assemble vocational training teams of medical professionals. The teams will work with Mercy Ships medical staff to perform or assist in life-changing surgeries. The Rotary volunteers also will share their expertise through training programs aimed at enhancing the skills of local health care professionals.
The partnership first focuses on West Africa, where the Mercy Ships flagship, the Africa Mercy, is now based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Grants will be implemented in the coming months, and the first Rotary teams are expected to be in West Africa by early 2012.
Health care training and capacity building for local hospitals is a major focus for Mercy Ships. Mercy Ships will work with Rotary to attract Rotarians from all over the world to help perform vocational training of surgeons and ancillary staff on the Africa Mercy as well as in local hospitals and facilities. Operated by Mercy Ships, the Africa Mercy is an ideal training platform with a controlled environment and a steady flow of patients.
"This strategic partnership with Mercy Ships enables Rotary to work with a globally-recognized leader in the delivery of vital medical and surgical care to the world’s most vulnerable populations," said Rotary Foundation Chair William B. Boyd. "It allows Rotary club members to directly contribute their valuable expertise and skills within the framework of a proven and highly successful health care program."
“Mercy Ships is honored to be chosen as a strategic partner for Rotary’s focus on disease prevention and treatment,” said Mercy Ships President and Founder Don Stephens. “The scope of Rotary’s service to humanity is truly monumental, and it is my belief that the synergy of our organizations working together will be an even greater force to improve health care delivery systems in West Africa.”
The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, under its new Future Vision plan, seeks to forge strategic partnerships with established organizations with expertise in any of Rotary’s six areas of focus: peace and conflict prevention/resolution; disease prevention and treatment; water and sanitation; maternal and child health; basic education and literacy; and economic and community development. The foundation grants support major international projects with sustainable, high impact outcomes.
To learn more about surgical opportunities with Mercy Ships, go to www.mercyships.org. For more information about Rotary, visit www.rotary.org. For visuals please visit: www.rotary.org/mediacenter.