fbpx

Reaching the unreachable: Polio campaign finds fistula patients

One of the worst things that can happen to a woman in rural Ethiopia is to have an obstructed labour and suffer an obstetric fistula.

These women become ostracised and are pushed to the edge of their society, socially isolated and often forgotten and invisible.

Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia has a very clear goal – to eradicate obstetric fistula from Ethiopia. To make this happen, we have been working in partnership with the Ethiopian government to take advantage of the National Polio Campaign and find more sufferers.

As part of the polio campaign, government healthcare workers go door to door to identify those in need of a vaccination to prevent polio. This year, the healthcare workers are also looking for women with an obstetric fistula. The workers use a survey, translated into local languages, to identify potential cases.

As obstetric fistula cases are identified, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia will follow up to provide treatment.

This support by the government has streamlined the logistics of finding patients who are socially isolated and previously unreached. 2420 women who may have an obstetric fistula have already been identified including 22 in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

This innovative campaign has brought hope to many women who have been living with this horrendous childbirth injury in isolation.

Photo by Amber Hooper

More News


  • Happy 100th Birthday, Catherine!

    Our entire global Hamlin family acknowledged Dr Catherine Hamlin’s 100th birthday on On 24 January 2024. ...

  • Hanan is a Hamlin Midwife

    Hanan is proud to be a Hamlin Midwife

    Hanan is proud to call herself a Hamlin Midwife. She recently graduated from the Hamlin College of Midwives with a BSc degree in Midwifery and has returned to her home state of Benishangul-Gumuz in northwestern Ethiopia. She is looking forward to serving the women in her community. We caught up with Hanan after her graduation ceremony […]...

  • Yeshineh clinical conversations

    Your questions answered: what is obstetric fistula?

    In the first of our Clinical Conversations series, Dr Yeshineh Demerew, Medical Director and Surgeon of Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia, answers the most common questions about obstetric fistula. What is obstetric fistula? A fistula is an abnormal communication between two or more organs in our body that don’t normally connect, and usually takes the form of […]...

  • Bizuyie finds the courage to rebuild her life after obstetric fistula

    Bizuyie is still unable to talk about the time she sustained a severe obstetric fistula injury 25 years’ ago. But we know her bladder was destroyed and the nerves in her legs were damaged, leaving her with difficulty walking and the need for a cane. Living in a remote village where no one knew what […]...