Emergency care for the poor in developing nations is inaccessible in most cases, resulting in countless people who live with ongoing suffering. Often injuries are compounded from lack of adequate treatment and require specialised procedures to provide relief.

Childbirth Injuries
Without access to proper obstetric care, women in developing nations can spend days in agonising labour before finally delivering a stillborn child. For those who survive, many develop the debilitating condition known as Vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF).

When prolonged labour or other trauma causes a fistula or hole to form between the bladder and vagina, women find the constant trickle of urine, and sometimes faeces, makes normal life impossible. In parts of the world where a woman’s worth lies in her ability to bear children and her usefulness as a wife, their husbands and families often abandon them to suffer alone.

Onboard ships and at a dedicated land-based VVF centre in West Africa, Mercy Ships performs free fistula repair operations for affected women. The healed patients are given new outfits and headdresses as symbols of their restored life.

War Injuries
Working in war-torn regions such as West Africa, Mercy Ships surgeons treat many survivors of traumatic injuries such as amputations, gunshot and machete wounds, helping to provide relief and restoration from poorly healed wounds, disablement and disfigurement.

Work Injuries
Acute and neglected trauma from automobile and motorcycle accidents, falls, and other injuries comprise a never-ending stream of patients. Orthopaedic surgeons perform a wide range of operations to relieve pain and generate mobility.