About Us
Our vision is simple: To eradicate obstetric fistula. Forever
Obstetric fistula is virtually a thing of the past in the US. But in Ethiopia, around 30,000 women are living with these untreated horrific childbirth injuries.
Our mission
Obstetric fistula is virtually a thing of the past in the US. But in rural Ethiopia, where women have little or no access to maternal healthcare, they can be in agonizing labor for days if their birth is obstructed.
They almost always lose their baby and suffer horrific internal damage that leaves them unable to control their body waste. Often women are outcast by their family and community, condemned to a life of shame and social isolation.
Founded by pioneering surgeon Dr Catherine Hamlin, Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation is an independent charity established to raise funds and awareness for Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia, which provides holistic treatment and care to the thousands of women and girls suffering with devastating childbirth injuries in Ethiopia.
Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation exists to support Dr Catherine’s mission to eradicate fistula. Forever.
This place will go on for many, many years until we have eradicated fistula altogether – until every woman in Ethiopia is assured of a safe delivery and a live baby.
- Dr Catherine Hamlin
Restoring health and dignity
Over six decades ago, Dr Catherine Hamlin recognized the urgent need facing women in Ethiopia and established the country’s first obstetric fistula hospital in Addis Ababa.
Today, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia is a healthcare network of over 550 Ethiopian staff servicing six hospitals, Desta Mender Rehabilitation Center, the Hamlin College of Midwives, and 90 Hamlin-supported midwifery clinics.
Dr Catherine developed new surgical techniques which have been recognized as a best practice in global health by leading organizations including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Surgeons from around the globe visit and train at Hamlin’s hospitals to learn this acclaimed method of treatment. In addition to obstetric fistula, all six Hamlin Hospitals provide a range of gynecological treatments to women, including advanced pelvic organ prolapse surgery.
Making Catherine’s vision a reality
While the eradication of fistula in Ethiopia once seemed impossible, it is becoming a reality. Through Project Zero, our most ambitious program in decades, we are going from door-to-door, Woreda-by-Woreda (district) to find and treat every woman in Ethiopia living with obstetric fistula.
The Hamlin College of Midwives is training a new generation of maternal healthcare professionals so that we can do all in our power to prevent childbirth injuries in the future.
This progress is only possible thanks to a growing movement of generous supporters who are determined to make Catherine's vision come true.
Catherine Hamlin’s Journey Continues
What is the Hamlin Model of Care?
Catherine pioneered what has been recognized as the world’s best-practice preoperative and postoperative fistula treatment. The Hamlin Model of Care combines clinical excellence with Catherine’s vision of treating every woman with compassion and dignity.
When a woman arrives at a Hamlin fistula hospital, she is embraced with loving care. She is given nutritious food, a handmade blanket and clean clothing. A customized program is developed for her that includes surgical repair, rehabilitation, counseling and reintegration.
Etagegn’s Story
“Here, everything is different. The nurses and doctors treat me with love, I am served with delicious, nutritious meals. I do physical exercise at the physiotherapy center, learn how to make crafts – and surprisingly all of these services are totally free,” says Etagegn.
Etagegn’s story is one of heartbreaking lows and hopeful highs: from the agony of obstetric fistula to the optimism of a life restored after being lovingly cared for at Hamlin’s Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital.
Transforming Ethiopia’s Maternal Healthcare
Reg and Catherine Hamlin travelled to Ethiopia for the first time over 65 years ago, and initially only planned to stay for three years. On the evening of their arrival in Ethiopia, a fellow gynecologist told them, “The fistula patients will break your hearts.” And they did.
The Hamlins had never seen an obstetric fistula case before and there was little or no treatment available in Ethiopia.
These two surgical pioneers refused to turn their backs on the women of Ethiopia. They remained in Ethiopia to treat women who had suffered an obstetric fistula – a horrific internal injury caused by an unrelieved obstructed labor during childbirth. Obstetric fistula leaves a woman incontinent, humiliated and grieving the loss of her child.
Catherine and Reg went about dramatically transforming the maternal healthcare landscape for the women of Ethiopia.
Today, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia remains the reference organization and leader in the fight to eradicate obstetric fistula around the world, blazing a trail for holistic treatment and care that empowers women to reassert their humanity, secure their health and wellbeing, and regain their roles in their families and communities.
Catherine's Lifetime of Caring
1950
Catherine and Reg Marry
Drs Reg and Catherine Hamlin met and married while they were both medical officers at Crown Street Women’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia.
1959
An Ethiopian Adventure
Their adventurous spirit inspired them to accept a three-year contract with the Ethiopian Government to work as obstetrician-gynecologists and set up a midwifery school in Addis Ababa.
On the evening of their arrival in Ethiopia, a fellow gynecologist told them, “The fistula patients will break your hearts.” The Hamlins had never seen an obstetric fistula case before and there was little or no treatment available in Ethiopia.
1960s
The Early Years
Initially working from the Princess Tsehai Memorial Hospital in Addis Ababa, Catherine and Reg refined the surgical technique to close obstetric fistula injuries, while continuing to treat a broad range of obstetric cases. Within the first three years, Catherine and Reg had operated on 300 fistula patients. As news of a cure spread, many more patients came seeking treatment.
1974
The World’s First Modern-day Fistula Hospital
To cater for the demand, Catherine and Reg began fundraising and officially opened the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in 1974.
2002
Rehabilitation for Long-term Patients
Opened in 2002, Hamlin’s Rehabilitation and Reintegration Center, Desta Mender (‘Joy Village’ in Amharic), was built on land about 6 miles from the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. The village accommodates patients with more severe injuries who require longer-term care.
The emphasis is now on reintegration. At Desta Mender, women receive education in literacy, numeracy and vocational training. With the help of start-up grants facilitated by Hamlin, many women have gone on to establish their own business. After the darkness of fistula, women can return to their community with hope and independence.
2003
Hamlin’s Regional Fistula Hospitals
Due to a lack of transportation infrastructure and difficult geography, many patients cannot access the capital city for treatment at Hamlin’s Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. For some patients, even the cost of a bus fare to Addis is just not possible for their family.
For this reason, in 2003, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia began an ambitious plan to build five regional Hamlin fistula hospitals.
There are now hospitals in Mekele and Bahir Dar in the north, Yirgalem in the south, Harar in the east and Metu in the southwest.
These hospitals ensure many more women are able to access quality maternal healthcare.
2007
The Hamlin College of Midwives
Catherine was determined not only to treat, but prevent childbirth injuries, so she established the Hamlin College of Midwives in 2007.
The College recruits students from rural areas, putting them through a rigorous four-year BSc in Midwifery, then deploying them back to remote communities where their skills are desperately needed.
Since 2007, over 270 midwives have graduated from the Hamlin College of Midwives.
There are currently over 90 rural Hamlin-supported midwifery clinics staffed by Hamlin Midwives. Midwives prevent hundreds of maternal and neonatal deaths and are saving many mothers from suffering devastating childbirth injuries.
2025
Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia Today
Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia is a healthcare network of over 550 Ethiopian staff servicing six hospitals, Desta Mender Rehabilitation and Reintegration Center, the Hamlin College of Midwives and over 90 Hamlin-supported midwifery clinics.
Today, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia remains the reference organization and leader in the fight to eradicate obstetric fistula around the world, blazing a trail for holistic treatment and care that empowers women to reassert their humanity, secure their health and wellbeing, and regain their roles in their families and communities.
Under Dr Catherine Hamlin’s pioneering guidance, over 70,000 Ethiopian women with fistula injuries have had their lives transformed under the Hamlin Model of Care.
The team at Hamlin continue to carry Catherine’s torch and vision, working towards her goal of a Fistula-Free Ethiopia.
Find Out More About Us
Where We Work
Our Governance
(ABN58159647499) Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation is fiscally sponsored by Myriad USA (formerly King Baudouin Foundation United States - KBFUS) (EIN582277856) and Myriad Canada (RCO769784893RR0001).