According to the United Nations Index of Human Development, of the 30 least developed nations in the world, 25 are in Africa. In the countries Mercy Ships visits, a cycle of war, poverty and disease often keep the majority of the population struggling on the edge of survival.

Field Service
In recent years the Mercy Ship Anastasis has focused on the massive need found in ports throughout West Africa. Mercy Ships docks in port cities by invitation of the government and conducts four to eight month periods of field service offering vital health care services and developmental programmes. All Mercy Ships services are offered to the poor free of charge.

The newest ship in the fleet, christened the Africa Mercy, with her increased health care and development capacity, is dedicated to bringing hope and healing to this continent.

Mercy Ships Sierra Leone
After 10 years of civil war, Sierra Leone, West Africa, recently ranked the poorest country in the world, was designated for long-term assistance by Mercy Ships. Over years of repeated visits by the hospital ship Anastasis, Mercy Ships established the permanent land-based programmes of Mercy Ships Sierra Leone: New Steps Centre, dedicated to the holistic rehabiliation of the disabled and displaced, and the Aberdeen Clinic and Fistula Centre – one of only five locations on the African continent offering women's Vesico-vaginal fistula repair.

Nations Visited
Since first reaching Africa’s shores in 1990, Mercy Ships has conducted programmes in the nations of Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Madagascar, New Guinea, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Togo.