Honorary Ethiopian surgeon dies aged 96

Catherine Hamlin, a renowned Australian gynaecologist and humanitarian, has died in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, aged 96.

Hamlin co-founded a network of clinics in Ethiopia that offered women reconstructive surgery for obstetric fistula, a traumatic injury that occurs during childbirth often leaving women incontinent and socially isolated.

Along with her husband, Hamlin helped around 60,000 women turn their lives around at their dedicated fistula hospital in Addis Ababa.

After his death in 1993, she continued to build on their work, and was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2012 the Ethiopian government made her an honorary citizen to thank her for the work she had done for people all over the country.

Photo: Sydney Morning Herald//Getty Images