Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia launches 600 for 600 campaign
Announcement posted by Access Public Relations 11 Apr 2014
Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia (Australia) has launched its annual fundraising campaign 600 for 600, calling for Australians and businesses to raise or donate $600 - the cost of a single operation to cure an obstetric fistula patient.
“It might be a posh handbag, a weekend away, or even a fancy dinner for you and I, but $600 is all it takes for a woman to be completely cured of a stigmatising birth injury, and on her road to her new and healthy life,” Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia Australia CEO Lucy Perry said.
“These women need us now – 99 per cent of all the patients who turn up to the hospital are suffering from mental illness after being isolated by their families and communities because of their condition – a condition which can be easily treated and cured,” Perry said.
“Our wonderful donors have always supported this vital campaign, and this year we’re hoping to raise the bar and reach our goal of $600,000, or 1,000 fistula operations before the end of June,” Perry said.
Last year the 600 for 600 campaign in Australia raised $319,800 which is the equivalent of funding for 533 standard obstetric fistula operations.
“Five per cent of women around the world experience obstructed labour. The difference is, most women have medical care and support who can make the necessary actions to minimise or avoid harm to the mum and bub,” said Perry.
Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia (Australia) supports the work of Dr Catherine Hamlin and her team in Ethiopia to treat, cure and prevent horrific birthing injuries in women, the result of having limited access to medical intervention during birth.
The campaign is being supported by social media activity using the hashtag #600for600
For more on the campaign and to donate, visit www.hamlin.org.au/600
ENDS
ABOUT DR CATHERINE HAMLIN
Dr Catherine Hamlin has lived in Ethiopia for more than 55 years and has lived through three regimes. Even in Ethiopia, Dr Hamlin developed a modern surgical technique for obstetric fistula and led the growth of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, its network of regional hospitals, and the flagship educational institution, the Hamlin College of Midwives.
To this day, Dr Hamlin continues to take an active role in the hospital and operates on patients every Thursday. She lives in her cottage on the banks of the river at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and continues to take an active role in moving the organisation forward.
Dr Hamlin has a Companion of the Order of Australia, is a nominee of the Nobel Prize and is on the Australian list of Living Legends.