Life-Changing Technology for Women in Ethiopia

Thanks to the generosity of Canadian supporters,  Myriad Canada worked with  Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia to procure a new state-of-the-art digital X-ray machine for the Radiology Unit at Hamlin’s Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital.

Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia is a registered charitable organisation  and world-class class centre of excellence for treating obstetric fistula patients and training obstetricians to specialise in this surgery. Rehabilitation programs assist former patients to reintegrate to village life. The organisation also has a preventative strategy that aims to eradicate obstetric fistula from Ethiopia by providing trained midwives in the rural regions of the country.

One of the worst things that can happen to a woman is an obstetric fistula, an internal injury in the form of a hole between the birth canal and the bladder and/or rectum. It leaves women leaking urine or faeces, and sometimes both.

Asegedech – grateful for the treatment she received

Asegedech lived hidden with devastating fistula injuries for 20 years, before she found a cure at Hamlin’s Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. For her, the importance of the high-quality care provided by the Hamlin Clinical Team cannot be understated.

“I pray for blessings to everyone who supported my cure including those who fund the work of this hospital. You have changed my life.”

–     Asegedech

The new ‘Carestream Focus Detector’ X-ray machine is wireless, portable and provides immediate, high quality digital images, supporting precise and timely diagnoses for women in need of help.

The new x-ray machine will be vital in assessing women’s injuries through:

• Emergency imaging for inpatients and outpatients in need of critical support
• Urinary tract imaging – to understand how much damage a fistula has caused
• Imaging in preparation of stoma therapy for patients who have complex fistulas, unable to be cured via surgery.

The digital X-ray machine eliminates the need for dark room work, reducing costs for film and processing chemicals. It also reduces Hamlin’s environmental impact through the absence of polluting by-products.

Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia thanks Myriad Canada and all of the Canadian supporters who are helping to ensure women in Ethiopia can access the high-quality medical assistance they need in order to rebuild their lives. Your support is helping to transform these women’s futures!

For more information or to support this project click here