Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia’s groundbreaking program Project Zero, was launched in late 2023 with the aim of finding every woman living with untreated childbirth injuries, woreda (district) by woreda.
Following the success of the first pilot in Ale Woreda, the second pilot in Didessa Woreda began in February 2024.
This woreda comprises 33 kebeles (neighbourhoods) with an estimated total population of 130,079 and 4,513 expected deliveries.
In Didessa Woreda alone, Hamlin-trained teams carried out 24,855 house-to-house surveys and identified 156 women with decades-long childbirth injuries including advanced stage pelvic organ prolapse cases. Most women have now received treatment.
House-to-house surveys are also effective in raising communities’ understanding of birth injuries and the importance of antenatal care, institutional birth and maternal health care in general.
