Our goal is fistula-free and safe childbirth for every woman.
Restoring Dignity, Saving Lives
Obstetric fistula is a common and devastating childbirth injury that occurs as a result of prolonged, obstructed labour without access to timely medical care. It leaves survivors with uncontrollable incontinence, and in most cases the loss of their baby as well. The physical and psychological consequences are debilitating, traumatic and heart-breaking.
In 1959, New Zealand-born Dr Reg Hamlin and his Australian wife, Dr Catherine Hamlin, began their extraordinary journey to Ethiopia — and their quest to provide treatment for some of the country’s most marginalised women: those who had suffered an obstetric fistula. Although both have now passed, their legacy continues…
Today, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia provides life-changing surgery and rehabilitation, while also preventing childbirth injuries by training and placing midwives in remote areas with no access to maternity care.
Hamlin’s healthcare network includes more than 600 Ethiopian staff working across six specialist fistula hospitals, the Hamlin College of Midwives, the Desta Mender rehabilitation and reintegration centre, and over 90 Hamlin-supported midwifery clinics across the country.
Over the past 65 years, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia has treated over 70,000 women
However, around 30,000 women in Ethiopia still live with an untreated obstetric fistula injury
Each year, at least 1,000 new fistula cases will occur
Raising Funds for Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia
Established in 2005 at the request of Dr Catherine, the Hamlin Charitable Fistula Hospitals Trust (known as Hamlin Fistula New Zealand) is a Kiwi charity committed to raising funds and awareness. We are dedicated to restoring the health and dignity of women who have survived horrendous - and preventable - childbirth injuries.
Join us to ensure the health and dignity of mothers by making quality maternity care and expert treatment for childbirth injuries accessible for every woman.
Just $4.38 a day can restore a woman’s life through life-changing surgery and loving care after untold suffering from a horrific childbirth injury. Joining our community of Hamlin Regular Givers is the most impactful way you can help women with childbirth injuries in Ethiopia. Regular donations are the most reliable source of income, allowing us to plan ahead to deliver the best care and support for women.
Through Project Zero we’ve made it our mission to bring obstetric fistula injury numbers 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.
Earlier this year, Solomon Abebe Addis joined Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia as General Manager. He brings extensive leadership experience across international development and public health, including senior roles with the United Nations, and was named one of the 10 World Maternal Health Young Champions by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Institute […]
Obstetric fistula is one of the most devastating childbirth injuries a woman can experience, yet it remains widely misunderstood. At Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia, many women arrive for treatment after years of physical suffering, stigma and social isolation. Misconceptions about what causes fistula — and whether it can be treated — can deepen that suffering and […]
Tewodros of Kidus Studios in Ethiopia has been working with Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia for more than five years. An exceptionally talented documentary photographer, his work captures both the hardship experienced by women living with obstetric fistula and other childbirth injuries, and the healing and hope made possible through the Hamlin Model of Care. A skilled […]
Keep up to date with our work including the latest news from our programmes in Ethiopia, ways to get involved and how your support can make a difference.
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Hamlin Fistula NZ is committed to providing ongoing support for fistula surgery and for the preventive work of the midwives. The hospital in Addis Ababa has become a centre of excellence to which doctors from other countries come to learn and master the specialist skills of fistula surgery.
Photography credits to Mary F. Calvert, Kate Geraghty, Amber Hooper, Joni Kabana, Joli Wescombe, Natasha Meyer and Martha Tadesse.
