AREAS WE WORK
Maternal health
Across Ethiopia, pregnancy and childbirth are still far more dangerous than they should be. Too many women and babies are lost due to lack of access to maternal health services and delays in reaching care. When complications arise, women can be left with devastating injuries like obstetric fistula, as well as stillbirth and long-term trauma. Especially when complications are preventable, safe pregnancy and birth is about more than survival – it’s about social justice.
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FAST FACTS
The challenge today
Around 195 women die for every 100,000 live births. In Australia it's 5.
Half of women don't have a skilled birth attendant on hand when they give birth. In rural areas this is even lower.
Lack of maternal care is a leading reason why an estimated 9,000 women develop obstetric fistula in Ethiopia each year.
Caused by prolonged and obstructed labour, obstetric fistula is an internal tear or hole which can result in stillbirth, leaves a woman with urinary and/or faecal incontinence and often causes a woman to be shunned by her community.
OUR AIM
To prevent avoidable maternal and newborn deaths and eliminate obstetric fistula in Ethiopia by expanding access to skilled maternity care and improving community awareness on safe pregnancy and birth.
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WHAT YOUR DONATIONS DO
Solution in action
From remote communities to specialised hospitals, a continuum of care is making pregnancy and childbirth safer and ensuring women with fistula are no longer shunned or isolated.
Traditional Birth Attendants
In remote areas where health facilities are scarce, trained Traditional Birth Attendants bridge the gap between home and hospital. They provide basic antenatal checks, recognise danger signs, encourage facility-based delivery where possible and help women reach skilled care before labour becomes life-threatening.
Community education
Changing outcomes means changing beliefs. Community workshops, pregnant women's conferences, school outreach and radio messages promote the importance of antenatal care and break down taboos behind fistula. Over time, this builds demand for safer choices for mothers and babies.
Safe Motherhood Ambassadors
Former fistula patients are trained as Safe Motherhood Ambassadors, drawing on their lived experience to identify hidden cases and connect women with treatment. They also teach about safe pregnancy and childbirth, speak at pregnant women’s conferences and community gatherings, and help break the silence and stigma surrounding fistula.
Fistula treatment
Specialist hospitals provide free, high-quality surgery for women living with obstetric fistula, often after years in isolation. Treatment includes transport, surgery and comprehensive pre- and post-operative care, along with counselling and basic physiotherapy, so women can heal physically and begin to rebuild their confidence.
Training new surgeons
To ensure women can access expert care into the future, Ethiopian surgeons, doctors and nurses are trained in fistula repair and safe obstetric practice. Mentoring from senior surgeons and hands-on training in dedicated fistula theatres build a growing workforce able to diagnose complications early and treat them effectively.
Fistula reintegration
Healing from fistula is more than a successful operation. Rehabilitation programs offer literacy lessons, vocational training and counselling. These pathways equip women with the skills to earn an income and rejoin their communities with dignity and renewed independence.
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THE IMPACT YOU CAN HAVE
“Now I am healed and so happy. I will educate my community about obstetric fistula.”
When 32-year-old Aberash went into labour, there was no doctor nearby, so she delivered at home. After three agonising days, she lost her baby and developed obstetric fistula, which left her incontinent.
“I was hiding myself. I was not drinking enough water for fear of urine leakage. My neighbours isolated me. I became hopeless.”
For 15 months, Aberash lived in pain and shame, believing nothing could be done. One day, a travelling Safe Motherhood Ambassador – a former fistula patient trained to identify women in need and share information on safe pregnancy and birth – visited her community.
Hearing Aberash’s story, the Ambassador recognised the signs of fistula, reassured her that it could be treated, and helped arrange transport and admission for life-changing surgery. Following successful repair and recovery, Aberash chose to train as a Safe Motherhood Ambassador herself. She now visits other communities, speaks with women and families about safe childbirth and fistula, and encourages other women living in isolation to seek care.
“Now I am healed and so happy," she says. "I will educate my community about obstetric fistula.”
Her journey from isolation to leadership shows how treatment, rehabilitation and community-based outreach can transform not only one woman’s life, but many others’ as well.
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MEET THE TEAM
Project partners in Ethiopia
❯ Healing Hands of Joy
Healing Hands of Joy (HHOJ) trains former fistula patients as Safe Motherhood Ambassadors who identify new fistula cases and help prevent fistula from occurring in the first place. They also host community workshops, religious leader trainings, film screenings and male sensitivity sessions to break down stigma and increase understanding of fistula and safe motherhood.
❯ Hope of Light
Founded by senior fistula surgeon Dr Ambaye Woldemichael, Hope of Light operates specialist hospitals that provide free obstetric fistula surgery for women in need. The organisation also raises awareness in remote areas, organises transport for women to reach treatment, and trains medical professionals in fistula repair, post-operative care and safer obstetric practice.
❯ Afar Pastoralist Development Association
Founded by Australian nurse Valerie Browning and Afar leaders in 1993, the Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA) was created to meet the unique needs faced by the isolated and nomadic people of Ethiopia's north-east Afar region. Today, APDA works to end harmful traditional practices like Female Genital Mutilation and child marriage, improve maternal health, and build up mobile, adaptable health and education services.
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BE PART OF POSITIVE CHANGE
Donate today to help ensure no woman in Ethiopia faces childbirth alone, without safe care or without treatment for fistula.
Ethiopiaid Australia believes in dignity, equality and justice for all people. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we work in Australia, and pay our respects to their people, cultures and Elders past and present. Whether in Australia, Ethiopia or around the world, we affirm the importance of universal human rights and the inherent dignity of every person.
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