Mercy Ships Australia

Mercy Ships is a unique medical charity that uses hospital ships and ground based teams to deliver free surgeries and health care to the poorest people in the developing world. We have transformed the lives of more than 2.42 million people in the least developed countries for more than 35 years. Australian surgeons, nurses and other staff volunteer their services and pay for their own expenses so we can treat more people.

What makes Mercy Ships different is that we use a unique platform - a ship - to bring world-class medical care to the poorest nations of the world. A ship gives us a number of advantages including:

• The ability to provide our services to millions who live in those areas of the globe that are difficult to access in normal circumstances allowing thousands to experience the same kind of medical care available to those of us who live in the West.
• Our staff work and are accommodated in a secure environment.
• In the unfortunate event of civil unrest, both staff and the self-contained hospital can be evacuated quickly to move onto the next assignment without loss of investment or capabilities

In what is unique in today's world, volunteers from around the world not only pay their way to the ship but also contribute to their accommodation costs. This goodwill extended by our volunteer staff dramatically lowers our overheads, allowing us to stretch every dollar donated.