Bahar Dar Hamlin Fistula Centre
This mini-hospital is located 340 miles north-west of Addis Ababa. Bahar Dar is a very poor town situated on the southern tip of Lake Tana which is the source of the Nile. Dr Andrew Browning, an Australian surgeon, who has been working at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital with Dr Hamlin and her team since 2003, has been running this centre since it opened in February 2005.
Dr Browning, heads a team of skilled nurses and nurse aides, the latter of whom are made up mostly of former patients. The head nurses, Debre Markos and Sister Wud ensure that high treatment standards are implemented to help ensure successful outcomes for patients. They have a dedicated Health Officer, Ato Berhanu, who is involved in outreach and prevention activities. Partnerships have already been established with other charities in the area to help spread the word about the centre and transport patients in.
The centre also employs several teachers to educate patients in areas of health and literacy and provide handicrafts training.
We are very grateful to the following:-
- The Regional Ministry of Health who donated the land for this centre.
- Mr Varnero, our engineering contractor who has worked on many of our projects over the years. Mr Varnero built this centre free of charge and it is dedicated to the memory of his father, Luigi.
- USAID who not only fund the operating costs of this centre but also work with Intra-Health to locate and transport patients to the centre.
In the Bahr Dar area it is not uncommon for girls as young as 7 or 8 to married. As a result of premature relations with their husbands these girls suffer dreadful internal injuries that are similar to the injuries suffered during an obstructed childbirth.
As word about the centre spreads, particularly from former patients, the numbers of fistula patients keeps growing steadily with about 10 new girls arriving each day.
Dr Browning is one of the most skilled fistula surgeons in the world. He trains many overseas doctors and has written extensively on Fistula Repair for medical journals.
In the past twelve months Dr Browning and his team have treated nearly 1009 women on an out-patient basis and have conducted major surgery on over 600 women.
Interviews with Dr. Browning;
- Beyond stillbirth, shame: Women with a fistula
Read on Reuters
- Supporting surgery for
obstetric fistula
Open PDF 7.5MB
- Ethiopia's Trail of Tears
Open PDF 44KB
Patients Stories:
Dr Browning (June 2006) writes……
We recently came had a patient come to us who had a fistula for 40 years. She was very apprehensive. When it came to the day for her surgery, while she was being prepared for the operation, she nervously exclaimed,
“I don’t mind if I die right now.. for I have slept in a bed and I have seen an electric light”.
Thankfully she was cured and went home with her dignity restored and happy memories of electricity and a comfortable bed.
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Bahar Dar