Rotary and Mercy Ships Partner to Deliver Vital Medical Care to West Africa

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Oct 05, 2011, 10:00 ET

EVANSTON, Ill., Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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.

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.

ABOUT MERCY SHIPS: Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to deliver free, world-class health care services, capacity building and sustainable development to those without access in the developing world. Founded in 1978, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 70 countries providing services valued at more than $834 million, impacting more than 2.9 million direct beneficiaries. Each year Mercy Ships has more than 1,200 volunteers from over 40 nations. For more information click on www.mercyships.org

ABOUT ROTARY: Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. There are 1.2 million Rotary members in 34,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Rotary clubs have been serving communities worldwide for more than a century. The first Rotary club was founded in Chicago in 1905.

SOURCE Rotary International