World-renowned Sydney gynaecologist Dr Catherine Hamlin died at her home on Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She was 96.

Dr Hamlin, together with her husband the late Dr Reg Hamlin, established treatment centres for women suffering from the debilitating effects of obstetric fistula, a crippling condition that results from complications in childbirth almost unknown in the West.

Dr Catherine Hamlin at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital & Bahir Dar Fistula Clinic in Ethiopia in 2008. Credit:Kate Geraghty

Over the past 61 years, more than 60,000 Ethiopian women have received the life-changing reconstructive surgery for obstetric fistula, thanks to the Hamlins' dedication.

Carolyn Hardy, chief executive Officer of Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation, said on Thursday: "To say Catherine was a remarkable woman is an understatement. In our eyes, she was a saint."