Mercy Ships Canada is a two-star financially transparent charity with a Low demonstrated impact rating. It has an A results reporting grade, which is above average. For every dollar donated, 63 cents are available to go to the cause. This is outside Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 1989, Mercy Ships Canada (MSC) is one of 16 national branches of Mercy Ships International (MSI). MSI operates two hospital ships, Africa Mercy and Global Mercy. The ships provide medical aid and training for people in coastal towns in West and sub-Saharan Africa. MSC states that 90% of people in West and sub-Sarahan Africa cannot access hospital treatment or afford medical care. It also states that each year, 16.9 million people around the world die due to lack of access to surgical care.

MSC funds two main programs, listed below. Charity Intelligence calculates MSC spent $1.7m on its programs in 2024. Ci did not find a program spending breakdown between the two programs on the charity’s website or in its annual report. The most recent annual report available on the charity’s website at the time of this update was from 2023.

All program work (surgeries, procedures, etc.) are reported for Mercy Ships International. 

Through Direct Medical Services, MSI offers various types of surgical procedures on its two ships. It also performs procedures outside of its ships. These procedures include free maxillofacial, plastic, and orthopedic surgeries. MSI completed 4,804 surgical procedures for 3,136 patients in 2023. It also completed 11,436 dental procedures. Of the on-ship surgical and dental patients, 2,064 were from Sierra Leone, 922 were from Senegal, and 79 were from Gambia. Of off-ship patients, 2,122 were from Guinea and 1,688 were from Togo.

Through Education, Training, and Advocacy, MSI trains healthcare professionals. The charity also educates the public on how to prevent and treat health problems. MSI provided 105,123 hours of healthcare education and training to 1,733 people in 2023. The three countries with the most participants were Senegal (598), Liberia (378), and South Africa (236).

Mercy Ships Canada’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. Its expenses are clearly defined between program, administrative, and fundraising categories.

MSC received $3.0m in donations in 2024. Administrative costs are 6% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 31% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 37%. For every dollar donated, 63 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

MSC spent $1.7m on its programs in 2024 excluding donated goods used, which is 57% of its revenue excluding donated goods. In 2024 it had a surplus of $98k.

MSC has $2.2m in gross reserve funds (cash and investments) and $4k in interest-bearing debts. This results in net reserve funds of $2.2m. The reserves can cover 127%, or one year and three months of program costs.

This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to Mercy Ships Canada. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on August 7, 2025, by Grady Simpson.