Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia - Dr Catherine Hamlin 5.42

THE TRAGEDY OF OBSTETRIC FISTULA: HAMLIN FISTULA ETHIOPIA (AUSTRALIA)

Pregnant women in rural Ethiopia have little or no access to emergency obstetric services. If they are among the five percent of women worldwide who will face obstructed labour, they will be in agonising labour for days and days.

They almost always lose their baby and suffer horrific internal damage – sometimes the bladder is completely destroyed, sometimes the rectum is also damaged. They leak constantly and are pushed to the edge of their society, too filthy to be part of village life and considered a curse.

“I would rather have my arm cut off than live with this condition.” Yenenesh, aged 17.

But there is hope. In the Ethiopian capital, there is a hospital especially for these, the most heartbreaking of patients. The Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and its five regional hospitals treat obstetric fistula patients free of charge, thanks to the generosity of donors.

Australian obstetrician-gynaecologist Dr Catherine Hamlin AC is the co-founder of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and the Hamlin College of Midwives. In 1959 Catherine and her late husband Reg went to Ethiopia to train midwives, but their attention soon turned to the plight of the fistula sufferers.

Together the Hamlins perfected the modern technique for obstetric fistula surgery and have treated more than 50,000 women. The surgical success rate at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia is 95 percent. Reg died in 1993 but Catherine continues their life’s work.

“My dream is to eradicate obstetric fistula from Ethiopia. I won’t achieve this in my lifetime, but you might in yours.”
Dr Catherine Hamlin AC

Your donation will have an immediate and life changing impact through:

- Treatment of obstetric fistula for women at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and its five regional hospitals

- Prevention of obstetric fistula with the education of midwives at the Hamlin College of Midwives who are then deployed back into the rural areas

Give generously and restore the health and dignity of women living with obstetric fistula in Ethiopia today.