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This image by Belgian photographer Stephan Vanfleteren, Panos for Mercy Ships/De Standaard won 1st prize in the People – Staged Portraits Stories category of the 56th World Press Photo Contest with the series “People of Mercy, Guinea”, it was announced by the organizers in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on 15 February 2013. It shows Makone Soumaoro, 30, in Conakry, Guinea, 17 October 2012, who has a goiter. “I don't have pain, but I am worried that my neck swells that much. I hope it it is not a tumor because I am a housewife and my man and three children need me”.
Guinea is one of the least developed countries in the world. More than 60 percent of the population lives on less than one dollar per day. Three quarters of the population is illiterate. Health care is substandard and unaffordable for most people. Some get help with their health problems from NGO Mercy Ships aboard the hospital ship “African Mercy” docked in the capital Conakry. They are treated by volunteer surgeons, doctors and nurses with such health issues as cataracts, teeth problems, and skin diseases to more complex orthopedic or tumor surgeries. (Photo by Stephan Vanfleteren/EPA)
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