By Clare BruceFriday 20 Mar 2020NewsReading Time: 1 minute
Dr Catherine Hamlin, the Australian woman who changed the face of Ethiopia with her dream of eradicating obstetric fistula in that nation, has died Wednesday at her home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation has posted the following announcement:
Obstetric fistula is a condition that causes women to be socially ostracised after birth – it is a tear in the birth canal, leaving women leaking urine and sometimes faeces. They often become social outcasts, rejected by family and unable to participate in community life.
Reg and Catherine Hamlin’s dedicated work repairing obstetric fistulas has given many thousands of Ethiopian women a chance to experience a normal life again. Their hospital has trained many surgeons from all over the world in the condition, multiplying the impact of Catherine’s work across the globe.
Dr Catherine Hamlin became famous for her work through the book, The Hospital By the River.
See More
- Catherine Hamlin – 50 Years in Ethiopia – Her Interview with Sheridan Voysey
- Lighting a Candle for Ethiopia – Annette Bennett of the Hamlin College of Midwives
- Learn about or support the Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation at hamlin.org.au.