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Obstetric fistula changes the lives of the women who live with it. Grief, loneliness, confusion, isolation; a life of needless suffering that leaves women with emotional and physical scars.   What is obstetric fistula?   Obstetric fistula is an entirely preventable child-birth injury. It is caused by prolonged unrelieved obstructed labor that can result in a hole […]

Life before fistula  School was never an option for Semenesh. The small, rural village in Southern Ethiopia where she grew up was so isolated that it would take seven hours to walk to the nearest school or bus stop.  The employment opportunities in her village were limited; Semenesh and most of her family members would […]

The Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital has become known as a global center of excellence in fistula surgery. By 2014, word of Dr Catherine Hamlin’s work and the need to eradicate obstetric fistula had spread – in particular, the Hamlins' work in training Ethiopians to become best-practice surgeons. Recognizing the excellent care and surgical practice maintained […]

When I die, this place will go on for many, many years until we have eradicated fistula altogether – until every woman in Ethiopia is assured of a safe delivery and a live baby. Dr Catherine Hamlin If we ever need proof of the good in humanity, we only need to think of Dr Catherine […]

On 10th December 2019 over 100 stakeholders, advocates and dignitaries attended an advocacy event organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Ethiopian Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs, and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. With the aim of influencing public policy and the means of eliminating discrimination and gender biases, the event […]

The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. Through this designation, the WHO is recognizing the work of the world’s 22 million nurses and two million midwives, including the life-saving work of midwives in Ethiopia. Prevention – through the work of Hamlin Midwives – is […]

The heartbreaking reality of an obstetric fistula injury for women in sub-Saharan Africa is that its consequences go far beyond the physical damage caused by the traumatic childbirth. For women suffering from fistula, the constant leakage of urine and/or feces leads to inescapable stigmatization within their communities that often results in social isolation.  Due to […]

The Hamlin - PMNCH Partnership  The Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation recognizes that the enormous task of eradicating obstetric fistula forever cannot be achieved in isolation. With the support of allied organizations, we are better placed to achieve this vitally important aim.  Consequently, Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation is a proud member of the Partnership for Maternal, […]