News & Articles

While she was in Australia in December, Valerie Browning was interviewed by Radio National presenter Sarah Kranowski in a piece entitled - How Aunty Val became the 'Afar Angel’. The interview covered Valerie’s work over more than 30 years to improve...

A long-term friend of the Barbara May Foundation, Dr Anders Siem, has been doing great work around the world, first by eradicating Guinea worm and then turning his attention to eradicating obstetric fistula and maternal deaths. The results of his last six years...

Featuring on the 20Twenty Podcast with Neil Johnson: 50 Years in 50 Degrees - Life with the Afar People in Ethiopia - an interview with Valerie Browning LISTEN NOW

Barbara May Foundation announces its partnership with Safewill.  Safewill provides an easy option for the 57% of Australians who don't have a Valid Will to protect the people and organisations that mean the most to them. Visit Safewill

The Foundation is delighted to announce that the renowned artist Kirsty Neilson will paint our beloved Valerie Browning for the Archibald Prize 2023. Kirsty has not only had her work hung three times in past Archibald Prizes, but is also a passionate volunteer who has...

Last week we sent out our quarterly newsletter which contained a story about the situation currently being experienced by Valerie Browning and her teams in the Afar region of Northern Ethiopia; ongoing war and drought causing immense suffering. We have had many of the...

December 2021 ‘TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVINGSAVE THE MOTHER, SAVE THE WORLD Dear Supporters,   A note to thank-you all for your wonderful support over the past year. Together we have made safe birth, maternal healthcare and family planning a possibility for many...

On Radio National on Monday morning listen to Valerie with Indira Naidoo discussing her years in Ethiopia and the devastation being caused by the current Civil War. 

Former NSW nurse Valerie Browning AM has vowed to take care of “one million people suffering beyond belief” in a bloody conflict showing no sign of slowing down. A 71-year-old Australian nurse has vowed to remain “while there is breath in my body” on the frontline of...

Valerie Browning on RN Breakfast with Fran Kelly Ethiopia's 10 month conflict in Tigray continues to worsen, as the Tigray People's Liberation Front and its allies advance towards the capital, Addis Ababa. But some of the fiercest fighting is also taking place in Afar...

October 15 is International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day observed for pregnancy loss and infant death, which includes miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, and the death of a newborn. Pregnancy loss is defined differently around the world, but in Australia...

Mille - Afar, Ethiopia - “When I had fistula, I never thought I would be able to have a normal life anymore or even get pregnant again,” said 32-week pregnant Fatuma Hamad at the Barbara May Maternity Hospital in Afar Region.  Fatuma’s first delivery changed her life...

On September 23, 80 guests joined BMF Director, Richard Browning, BMF Ambassador Dr Geoff Kelsey and great friend of the Foundation’s, Margaret Hounslow, at Customs House in Brisbane to meet Dr Andrew Browning and hear about the maternal health and fistula repair work...

The Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid (Anglican Aid), together with the Barbara May Foundation (BMF) has announced a fundraising partnership which raises money towards better outcomes for pregnant women and mothers in sub-Saharan Africa. [button...

It seems extraordinary that 2021 marks two decades since Catherine Hamlin’s book The Hospital by the River was published, introducing millions in the West to the distressing realities of obstetric fistula. The author of A Doctor in Africa, Andrew Browning, has...

Double your donation power! * Update 29/7/21: We have now reached the value of $10,000, donation matching has now been extended to $15,000. The amount total amount of $30,000 will fund 150 safe births and 75 fistula repair operations. A wonderful friend of the...

A word from Jennah-Louise about this episode featuring Dr Browning: "Hello beautiful people. On today’s podcast we have the compassionate and committed Dr Andrew Browning. Andrew has spent 17 years of his life working in countries such as Ethiopia, Sierra Leone,...

WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER – OR ARE WE? End of Financial Year Appeal For 18 months now the world has struggled with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been lucky in Australia, as an island nation, we have been protected from many of the collateral issues....

Dr Andrew Browning’s memoir ‘A Doctor in Africa’ has been released by Pan Macmillan and is receiving wonderful reviews! With the preface by HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, and foreword by Her Excellency, Linda Hurley, Andrew’s book is an inspiring story of his...