--- title: "MSF UK vs Mercy Ships UK: Key Differences & Ratings" description: "MSF UK (Doctors Without Borders) vs Mercy Ships UK compared: funding and staffing MSF projects vs funding and crewing hospital ships in Africa, 2025 reports." source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare/msf-uk-vs-mercy-ships-uk retrieved: 2026-10-23T13:11:54.275Z date_note: "Retrieval time is not the filing, register-extract or editorial-review date; cite those dates from the content." license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0" --- [MS](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/medecins-sans-frontieres-uk) [MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK)](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/medecins-sans-frontieres-uk) 75/100 4★ Reg. 1026588 compared with [MS](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/mercy-ships-u-k-ltd) [MERCY SHIPS - U.K LTD](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/mercy-ships-u-k-ltd) 85/100 4★ Reg. 1053055 # MSF UK vs Mercy Ships UK **In short:** MSF UK raises money and recruits staff for emergency medical projects run by MSF’s operational centres. Mercy Ships UK raises money and recruits volunteers for Mercy Ships’ hospital ships, which provide free surgery and train health workers in Africa. Last reviewed 23 October 2026 by CharityCompare editorial. Both raise money and recruit people in the UK for medical work that a wider organisation runs abroad. MSF UK granted £73.8 million to other MSF sections in 2025 and sent 100 UK staff on 124 assignments. Mercy Ships UK granted £8,025,424 to Mercy Ships International, whose two hospital ships served in Sierra Leone and Madagascar, and recruited volunteers equivalent to 44 full-time roles. ## MSF UK vs Mercy Ships UK: key differences | What to compare | MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK) | MERCY SHIPS - U.K LTD | | --- | --- | --- | | Registered work and operating model | Raising funds, recruiting staff and speaking out for medical humanitarian projects that MSF’s operational centres manage. | Raising funds and recruiting volunteers for Mercy Ships’ hospital ships, which provide free healthcare and train local medical staff in African countries. | | What to consider | Its money funds projects it does not normally manage, so its accounts show grants rather than patient numbers. In 2025, 99% of its income came from donations and legacies, and it says it safeguards its independence through private funding. | The surgery totals Mercy Ships reports cover the whole organisation, not the UK charity’s share. About £1.2 million of the UK grant total is the cost of UK staff seconded to Mercy Ships International, and £2.25 million was a one-off payment. | | Access and practical checks | MSF UK recruits UK staff for field projects. Donors can give to named emergencies or to unrestricted funds, which made up 87% of its 2025 fundraising income. | Its volunteer crew pay their own way, and Mercy Ships UK recruits medical and other volunteers for the ships. It says it follows the model of Jesus and helps people of all faiths and none. | | Sourced result or evidence gap | £73.8 million: Grants to other MSF sections, £71.5 million of it directly for medical humanitarian work and social mission. 2025. A financial input, not a patient outcome; MSF UK does not report patient numbers for the projects it funds. | 5,019: Surgeries by Mercy Ships, for 4,554 unique surgical patients. 2025, whole organisation. A charity-reported output; the UK charity’s own contribution was £8,025,424 in grants and volunteer recruitment equivalent to 44 full-time roles. | ## What the latest filings show Figures from the accounts held in our dated dataset; the live register may contain newer filings. Ratios can span multiple years, as labelled. Clarity scores use our [methodology](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology). Cost to raise £1 of donations is not part of the score; legacies make it lumpy, and it is withheld where trading costs would distort it ([how it works](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology#cost-to-raise)). These snapshots have different latest accounts years. Compare the same period in the full profiles before drawing a conclusion from a financial difference. | Metric | MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK) | MERCY SHIPS - U.K LTD | | --- | --- | --- | | Latest accounts year in our snapshot | 2024 | 2025 | | Financial snapshot refreshed | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-06 | | Ratio reporting window | 3-yr avg | 3-yr avg | | Overall score | 75/100 (4★) | 85/100 (4★) | | Accountability & Finance | 100/100 | 100/100 | | Spend on charitable activities | 86% of expenditure | 79% of expenditure | | Fundraising efficiency | £7.1 total income per £1 fundraising (2022–2024, disclosed years) | £4.4 total income per £1 fundraising (2023–2025, disclosed years) | | Cost to raise £1 of donations | 16p per £1 (2024) · 15p over 2022–2024 | 23p per £1 (2025) · 23p over 2023–2025 | | Latest income | £95m | £11m | | Fundraising spend | 14% of expenditure | 21% of expenditure | | Reserves | 1 month | 4 months | | Accounts filing | On time | On time | | Data confidence | high | high | | Charity number | 1026588 | 1053055 | [MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK) on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1026588&subId=0) · [MERCY SHIPS - U.K LTD on the register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1053055&subId=0) ## Considering MSF UK - You want to fund emergency medical care for people affected by conflict, epidemics and disasters, through an organisation funded almost entirely by private donations. - You want your gift to stay flexible, as most of its fundraising income is unrestricted. [Full profile →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/medecins-sans-frontieres-uk) ## Considering Mercy Ships UK - You want to fund free surgery and the training of local health workers through hospital ships. - You want to support a faith-based organisation that serves people of all faiths and none. [Full profile →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/mercy-ships-u-k-ltd) ## MSF UK vs Mercy Ships UK: questions answered ### MSF UK or Mercy Ships UK: which should I support? There is no universal winner. MSF UK funds and staffs emergency medical projects run by MSF’s operational centres; Mercy Ships UK funds and recruits for hospital ships offering free surgery and training in Africa. Choose the kind of medical work you want to fund, then check the accounts period. A financial rating is not an impact assessment. ### Do MSF UK and Mercy Ships UK run the projects themselves? No. MSF UK says it does not normally manage medical humanitarian projects directly; MSF’s operational centres run them. Mercy Ships UK is one of 16 independent national charities that raise funds and recruit volunteers, while Mercy Ships’ International Support Centre manages the ships’ marine and medical operations. ### Is either a religious charity? Mercy Ships describes itself as faith-based, following the model of Jesus and helping people of all faiths and none. MSF UK’s 2025 report describes MSF’s core values as including independence, impartiality and neutrality. 100 How we score charities + The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically. [Full methodology →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology) Accountability & Transparency Scored from filings 40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10). Financial Health Scored from filings 30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises). Financial Efficiency Scored from filings 20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below). Community Support Scored from filings 10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio. Overall score Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated. [Compare these charities side-by-side](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities?ids=medecins-sans-frontieres-uk,mercy-ships-u-k-ltd) [Back to compare](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities) **Information only** — not donation advice. We do not tell you where to give. Sources: [MSF UK: Registered activities, identity and accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1026588&subId=0), [MSF UK: Annual Report and Accounts 2025 (year to 31 December 2025)](https://msf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-05/MSF%20UK%20Trustees%20Annual%20Report%202025%20%28signed%29%20-%20compressed.pdf), [Mercy Ships UK: Registered activities, identity and accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1053055&subId=0), [Mercy Ships UK: 2025 Annual Report (filed with the Charity Commission)](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1053055/accounts-and-annual-returns), [Mercy Ships UK: Volunteer with Mercy Ships](https://www.mercyships.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer/). See also [how we score](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities#how-we-score).