President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday, officially welcomed the Global Mercy Hospital Ships back to Ghana at the Tema Port, to provide free life-changing surgeries and medical care to Ghanaians. The Global Mercy Hospital Ships arrived at the Tema Port on August 18, 2026, for a 10-month field service in partnership with the Government of Ghana.
The Global Mercy Hospital Ships, the world’s largest multi-purpose-built civilian hospital ships, would offer free surgical care on board. In addition to providing free surgeries, the Ships would work closely with national partners to strengthen the nation’s surgical and anaesthetic systems. This year’s visit marks Mercy Ship’s fifth deployment to Ghana since 1991.
Previous visits had facilitated over 2,600 life-altering surgeries, 16,700 dental procedures, and the professional development of 139 Ghanaian healthcare professionals. President Mahama expressed gratitude to the crew for returning to Ghana to provide free life-changing surgeries and medical care to Ghanaians. He urged all partners in the collaborative effort to make the visit count in the lives of patients and in strengthening Ghana’s health systems.
During his official visit and tour of the Global Mercy Hospital Ships, President Mahama recounted some emotional stories with pictures of patients who had undergone correctional surgeries. He noted some of these patients, mostly children, had faced stigma and discrimination because of their deformities, but the success of surgeries gave them hope, confidence and joy.
President Mahama thanked the facility and its crew for their generosity and humanism. The President on behalf of all the Ghanaian patients who would be benefitting from the mission and services of the Mercy Ships, thanked the donors, medical team, crew, volunteers and especially, the Ghanaian partners for the generosity that would bring hope to the hopeless.
President Mahama noted that a patient who needed surgery would not have to give up because treatment was too far away or beyond their family’s means. The free care being offered onboard the Mercy Ships would make a difference to patients and the people who care for them. He also thanked Madam Dame Ann Gloag, the Lifetime Director, Mercy Ships International, and other key officials for facilitating the visit.
President Mahama acknowledged that the Mercy Ships had served Ghana on four previous visits as far back as 1991 and delivered more than 2,600 surgeries and 16,700 dental procedures. He noted that this visit would provide opportunities for Ghanaian surgeons, anesthesia professionals, nurses and other health workers to learn alongside the team aboard the Mercy Ships and strengthen the services their hospitals could provide long after the Ship had departed.
Key points
- President Mahama welcomed the Global Mercy Hospital Ships to Ghana for a 10-month field service to provide free life-changing surgeries and medical care.
- The visit marks Mercy Ship’s fifth deployment to Ghana since 1991, building on a legacy of impactful collaboration.
- Previous visits had facilitated over 2,600 life-altering surgeries, 16,700 dental procedures, and the professional development of 139 Ghanaian healthcare professionals.
