H.E the First Lady of Ethiopia, W/ro Zinash Tayachew, together with H.E Minister of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Amir Aman, visited the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital on May 31, 2018. During their visit, they were most cordially welcomed by Dr. Catherine Hamlin, Hamlin Board of Trustees, Senior Management Team, staff and fistula survivors.
Following their tour of the hospital facility, guided by Dr. Fekade Ayenachew, the Medical Director, they met with Dr. Catherine Hamlin, founder of the Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia (HFE), and attended a short briefing on the work of the organization by A/CEO, Ato Tesfaye Mamo.
Speaking during her visit, the First Lady promised to continue contributing to the very mission and vision of HFE. “I’ve a long personal attachment to Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia. When I was in USA, I was contributing $10 per month to support the organization’s fistula treatment and prevention activities. Now, perhaps with a higher degree and scope, I’m ready to continue contributing to the vision of the organization.”
H.E Minister of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Amir Aman, also spoke during the occasion and expressed his commitment to support HFE’s ongoing efforts. “Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia is a model to the Health Sector in Ethiopia in many ways, and I hope it will continue becoming so. We’ve taken the Hamlin Sanitary Model and incorporated it into our health agenda. We know that the Hamlin College of Midwives, which has an uninterrupted history of 100% pass of its graduates in the National Midwife Licensing Examination, is recognized as a model college in the Ethiopian midwifery education, and there is so much we are expected to learn from that as well.”
Dr. Catherine gifted both the First Lady and the Minster of Health signed copies of her book, “The Hospital by the River: A Story of Hope”, and handmade scarves by fistula survivors.
