Doctors aboard the US ship “Anastasis” will be carrying out facial operations over the next six months on about 1,000 people from Benin, Togo and Nigeria.
The project is managed by the nongovernmental organisation Mercyships and the operations are free of charge, a Benin Health Ministry official told IRIN on Tuesday.
The doctors aim to heal facial defects that in many communities can lead to isolation and ostracism. The ship has been docked off Benin’s commercial capital of Cotonou since 8 November.
The patients are considered to have the most severe deformities among people assessed by doctors in the three countries. Mercyships, which travels around the world, visited the region last year.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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