Road toa Fistula Free Ethiopia

Hamlin Fistula UK

When you live a three-hour walk away from the nearest town, in a village with no electricity, accessing health services isn’t easy. Yet this is the reality for pregnant women in rural Ethiopia. Whilst progress has been made in recent years, 70% of women in Ethiopia still give birth without a doctor or nurse present. This can result in devastating childbirth injuries including obstetric fistula. Too many women are suffering with untreated fistula, not knowing help is available. Project Zero, which is currently in Pilot stage, is a bold new initiative to accelerate the end of the devastating birth injury obstetric fistula across Ethiopia – district by district, once and for all. Project Zero will see the scale up of Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia's community outreach work: searching targeted communities to find women with fistula and advanced pelvic organ prolapse and get them the treatment they need, as well as growing our support for midwifery clinics in Ethiopia. We will work closely with woreda (district) health bureaus and partners to end fistula in multiple districts each year through a three-step approach: identification and treatment, prevention, and education. Pilots will inform the expansion and roll out of this multi-year programme from 2024 onward.