As you may have noticed when we tweeted about it last month, the fistula community has come together recently to celebrate a very important birthday.

On 24 January, Dr. Catherine Hamlin turned 90. For the past several decades, if you’ve heard of fistula at all, it’s likely thanks to the work and passion of Dr. Hamlin and her late husband, who settled in Ethiopia and in 1974 founded the African continent’s first hospital dedicated exclusively to fistula treatment.

Forty years and 35,000 patients later, Dr. Hamlin is still operating, and in the past 10 years she’s finally started to receive a modicum of the credit she deserves for her work and dedication. New York Times columnist Nick Kristof frequently writes about Dr. Hamlin’s work with the women of Ethiopia, and Oprah Winfrey invited Dr. Hamlin to appear on her show in 2004.

According to an announcement from Hamlin Fistula just today, Ms. Winfrey joined in celebrating Dr. Hamlin’s 90th by making a generous donation to the foundation. In addition to the many gifts she has made towards the eradication of fistula over the years, Ms. Winfrey’s association with Dr. Hamlin has been a tremendous contribution to the awareness-raising efforts of the fistula community. When something is as obscure as fistula, every public mention is a win. When that mention comes from someone with the global reach of Oprah Winfrey, it’s nothing short of amazing.

But the most amazing part of the equation is Dr. Hamlin herself, who has been quietly and steadfastly chipping away at the problem of obstetric fistula for half her life, and without whom the world would have far less capacity to treat this niche of maternal health. The expert surgeon we partner with most often was first trained at the Hamlin Hospital, as were many of the doctors we know, from Madagascar all the way over to Chad. The reach of her work is astounding, and it’s a part of what inspired us to extend even a fraction of what she’s accomplished in Ethiopia to our own programs in Malawi, Madagascar and Mauritania.

I was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Hamlin in 2012 while doing fistula research in Addis Ababa. Let’s just say I felt like how normal people must feel when they meet Lady Gaga. I restrained myself from asking for a selfie with her, but the memory of her warmth, intelligence and humility has stayed with me.

We’ve heard that Ethiopia recently nominated Dr. Hamlin for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. We can’t think of anyone more deserving.

Happy birthday, Dr. Hamlin. Thank you for everything.