Californian student Libby Eggemeier took a normal class assignment as an opportunity to advocate for some of the most vulnerable women in the world. In the process, she won a grant to aid those very women suffering from obstetric fistula! A junior at the Menlo School in the Bay Area, Libby has always fostered a […]

Sarah Ames, Director Sarah is a partner at Quarles & Brady LLP, a national law firm in Chicago, Illinois U.S. She represents subsidiaries of foreign companies in corporate, commercial, employment and immigration matters.  Sarah was the first woman to run a marathon on each of the 7 continents 3, 4 and 5 times.  For her […]

Skilled midwives are the difference between life and death, the difference between healthy mothers and horrendous fistula injuries and often they are also the difference between healthy babies and those born with HIV. The Hamlin College of Midwives was established in 2007. For more than a decade now, Hamlin has worked with the Ethiopian Ministry […]

UN Sustainable Development Goals. 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 […]

Semenesh grew up in a small, rural village in Southern Ethiopia. Her village was so isolated that it would take seven hours to walk to the nearest school, clinic or bus stop. This isolation would drastically reduce the opportunities available to Semenesh. It would also contribute to Semenesh suffering a devastating injury called obstetric fistula. […]

A Global Center of Excellence. 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 […]

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 Building a Fistula-Free Future. If we ever need proof of the good in humanity, we only need to […]

Advocating for the Advancement of Women's Rights. 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 […]