Our History

Since 1958, Project HOPE has equipped health care workers around the world to provide world-class care in their communities and respond to urgent health crises when they arise.

In 1958, Project HOPE founder Dr. William B. Walsh worked with U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to charter a U.S. Navy hospital ship for $1/year. A donor contributed $150 to get Project HOPE started, and, with the support of corporations and generous benefactors, the ship was transformed into the SS HOPE.

Over the next 14 years, the SS HOPE made 11 voyages to every region of the world, providing health care for local communities and strengthening health systems.

Today, the spirit of the SS HOPE lives on through our global team members, technical experts, and medical volunteers who work in more than 25 countries to expand equitable access to health care worldwide.

65 Years of Impact

1958: Dr. William B. Walsh works with President Dwight Eisenhower to charter a retired Navy hospital vessel for $1/year – refitting it to become the first peacetime hospital ship, the SS HOPE.

1960s: The SS HOPE conducts eight voyages to train health workers and provide medical care in Indonesia, South Vietnam, Peru, Ecuador, Guinea, Nicaragua, Colombia, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.

1970s: The SS HOPE conducts its final three voyages, to the West Indies and Brazil, before transitioning to land-based programs. Project HOPE becomes the only U.S. private volunteer organization to work behind the Iron Curtain to improve health services to children in Poland.

1980s: Project HOPE’s work combatting infectious diseases extends to HIV/AIDS, with prevention programs launched in Malawi that eventually reach more than 1 million people.

1990s: Project HOPE serves communities in South America with maternal and child health programs; offers medical relief assistance to those ravaged by the war in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia; and establishes a state-of-the-art children’s hospital in Shanghai.

2000s: Project HOPE answers the call in times of disaster by providing humanitarian relief to those affected by Hurricane Katrina and the Indonesian tsunami in Southeast Asia.​

2010s: Project HOPE celebrates 60 years of impact by expanding its global health programming and continuing to provide lifesaving relief in the wake of disasters in Haiti, Japan, Nepal, the Bahamas, and more.​

2020s: Project HOPE responds to COVID-19, one of the deadliest pandemics in modern history, while providing emergency relief when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggers the largest refugee crisis since World War II.