Eradicating Fistula Forever

You have helped restore health and dignity to over 70,000 Ethiopian women. Thank you.

While enormous progress has been made, more than 31,000 women in Ethiopia still live with an untreated obstetric fistula injury. And every year, another 1,000 new fistula cases will occur.

Through Project Zero we’ve made it our mission to bring this number down to zero, by focusing on identification, prevention, and education.

Join us as we roll out this life-changing project across the country and make Dr Catherine Hamlin’s vision of a Fistula-Free Ethiopia a reality. 

Restoring Health and Dignity

At Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation, we are dedicated to restoring the health and dignity of women who have survived a horrendous – and preventable – childbirth injury: obstetric fistula.

65 years ago, Drs Catherine and Reg Hamlin, started their extraordinary journey to Ethiopia, providing a lifetime quest of world-best treatment for women who suffered from an obstetric fistula. An internal injury caused by a prolonged, unrelieved obstructed labour, which leaves women incontinent, humiliated and cut off from their communities.

With a healthcare network of over 550 Ethiopian staff servicing hospitals, a rehabilitation and reintegration centre, the Hamlin College of Midwives and over 90 Hamlin-supported midwifery clinics.

The Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation raises funds for Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia. We have one purpose and one purpose only: eradicating fistula. Forever.

Towards a fistula-free Ethiopia

The Hamlin Model of Care

Dr Catherine Hamlin had unending love for Ethiopia’s women. Based on her core values, the Hamlin Model of Care is grounded in a fundamental respect for every patient and a commitment to provide complete and compassionate care.

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Treating Patients

An obstetric fistula can usually be repaired with a single life-changing surgery. The Hamlin clinical team is globally renowned for its fistula-repair treatment technique, training surgeons from all over the world.

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Future Prevention

The key to a fistula-free Ethiopia, lies in preventative measures. The Hamlin College of Midwives trains and deploys midwives to work in remote areas of Ethiopia – preventing fistula injuries in the first place.

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Rehabilitation

Fistula leaves physical and emotional scars. Surgical treatment at Hamlin is supplemented with physiotherapy and counselling to help recovering patients regain their physical and mental health.

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