The United Nations’ Report on Obstetric Fistula 2020 calls for a surge in efforts to eradicate obstetric fistula. The report outlines the gender and socioeconomic inequalities which result in fistula, as well as the measures necessary for the eradication of fistula by 2030. Highlighting the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has created for women in developing countries seeking […]

Dr Betty, General Practitioner at Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital Dr Betty is a GP in the Outpatients Department at Hamlin’s Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. She mostly works with obstetric fistula patients as they first arrive at the hospital. For many women arriving at Hamlin, their consultation with Dr Betty marks the start of a new […]

Dr Melaku Abriha is the Medical Director & Fistula Surgeon at Hamlin’s Mekele Fistula Hospital. He's been with Hamlin's Clinical Team for 16 years.

Beletshachew Tadesse first met Dr Catherine Hamlin in 2009 when she was working for WaterAid. Soon after Beletshachew came work with Catherine at Hamlin’s Desta Mender as Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia’s first Rehabilitation and Reintegration Manager, she served in this role from 2011 to 2019. “These women deserve to thrive” I joined Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia in […]

Dr Yeshineh Demerew - Medical Director at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia Dr Yeshineh has three decades of clinical experience. He began his career as a general practitioner in 1987 after graduating from the Gondar College of Medical Science. In 1997 he qualified as a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Addis Ababa University and in 2019 […]

Jallene’s Journey. For years, Jallene needlessly endured the agony of obstetric fistula without any medical attention. Thanks to a Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia initiative, Jallene was identified by Hamlin-trained health officers and taken to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital for treatment. Jallene’s journey is one of sacrifice, suffering and, ultimately, the renewal of hope. Life before fistula, Jallene's journey Jallene is from […]

Ruth Kennedy is a Scottish midwife who grew up in Brazil. Ruth first met Dr Catherine Hamlin in 1991. Below is the first in a series of her blogs about her experience working with Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia. She was young, small in stature, only a child… she was lying in a head down prone position, with […]

Prilli Stevens was the Chief Professional Nurse in the Stoma therapy Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa; she retired in 2005. Prilli first met Dr Catherine Hamlin in 1995. Written in 2005, below is Prilli Stevens’ account of working with Catherine. It was in 1993 that I first heard of the […]