Critical discourse analysis of media presupposition in reinforcing ideology: the case of hamlin fistula ethiopia

Abstract

It was in 1974 that Addis Ababa fistula hospital (AAFH) started caring for women with childbirth injuries. The hospital is located in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. It is the only hospital of its kind in the world dedicated exclusively to women with fistula repair—a condition common in developing world where the maternal health provisions are poor. It treats all patients free of any charge. The patients are usually the poorest of the poor, divorced, or abandoned by their husbands or partners ostracized by their parents and community as a result of obstetric fistula. It also provides a residential facility where patients with irreparable damage can live long term. It is a registered charitable non-governmental hospital run on donation because of the need of the women, and has proven success in treating this condition. For instance, the hospital gets aid from USAID and it has promised to keep supporting it too; that would help the hospital in improving maternal and child health mortality, which is the main goal of the millennium development.